If I Stay
by Halebxxx
Summary: After growing up in Rosewood the biggest decision Hanna Marin has had to make was whether to trust the towns newest resident Caleb Rivers. But after a fatal car crash leaves her suspended between life and death she has a huge choice to make that will decide her future. Haleb AU. Based off the book and film 'If I Stay'.
1. Chapter 1

**Not too long ago I saw a Haleb trailer for the film If I Stay on YouTube and that's was gave me inspiration. Its based off the book and film but you don't need to have read or seen them to understand what is happening, but if you have then you'll know that its very emotional so hopefully I'll do a good job and you'll all be in tears by the end of this story. Enjoy xxx.**

* * *

If I Stay...

"Have you heard anything?" Ashley Marin asked as she walked into the kitchen and spotted her seventeen-year-old daughter slumped over the island with her phone in her hand. Hanna shook her head and sighed setting her phone down and picking up her mug of coffee. "Maybe he lost his phone or something? How long has it been now?" Ashley asked, trying to find an excuse that might make her daughter feel better.

"It's been two weeks Mom, he should've called me by now." She trailed off at the end and went back to staring at her coffee.

"And you haven't herd from him at all in two weeks?"

"He texted me when his plane landed but that was the last time." Hanna muttered.

"You should just forget about him, Han." Tom Marin piped up from the kitchen table where he was sat reading the paper. "I always had a bad feeling about that boy and looks like I was right."

Hanna rolled her eyes at her fathers comment and stood up from the stool. "I'm going to school." She sighed, picking up her bag. School was the last place she wanted to be but at least her friends didn't ridicule her relationship.

"I'll give you a lift, it's been raining all morning." Tom stood up too and started to collect his work things. "I'll just be a minute."

Hanna turned back to her mom as her dad left the kitchen. She rolled her eyes and gave her a pointed look which Ashley could only laugh at. "Don't listen to him." She knew Tom meant no harm with what he had said and he was just being his smart-ass self but she could see his comments were starting to annoy Hanna. She made a mental note to tell him to hold back after they dropped Hanna off.

"Ready?" Tom asked reappearing with his smart black duffel coat on and his brief case in hand.

"Can you drop me off at the office?" Ashley asked as she filled a flask with coffee and screwed the top on. "The tires on my car are starting to run flat, we need to get someone to take a look."

"Hurry," Tom nodded walking to the front door. "I've got a meeting I can't be late for."

Hanna collected her books from the side with a huff and put them in her bag, grabbing her phone as well as she followed her parents out the front door.

* * *

"What's causing all this traffic?" Tom murmured as their car came to a standstill in the middle of the street surrounded by other static vehicles.

"It's the new work the Hastings family are having done on their barn." Ashley replied. "I was talking to Veronica yesterday, all the building materials are arriving today, the delivery truck is probably blocking the road or something."

Hanna zoned out of her parents conversation and glanced down at her phone again. She could help herself as she started scrolling through the pictures of him. She missed his rough voice and his warm, dark eyes. His scruffy hair, his smirk and most off all she missed his soft touch and the way he made her heart beat faster.

An early photo appeared on her screen; the first one she had ever taken off him. He was sat at a school desk with his feet up and a frown on his face as he reached for the phone in her hand. She thought back to the first time she met him. He had that same bad boy demeanour and his signature smirk plastered to his face.

 _... Hanna was half way up the stairs with her phone charger in her hand when she herd the front door open and her father walked through with his fist clenched around some green material. "What's going on?" She heard her mother ask._

 _Hanna took a few steps down the stairs so she could get a better look at what was going on._

 _"I just caught him trying to steal my car." Tom gritted his teeth as he dragged a mop of brown hair through the front door by the kakhi green jacket he was wearing._

 _The mop of hair turned to look at her and their eyes instantly met. Brown met blue and Hanna felt butterflies in her stomach just from eye contact._

 _A light blush spread across her makeup-free cheeks as she broke away from his eyes to take in his whole face. He was the definition of tall, dark and handsome. His long ,dark-brown hair framed his tanned face and suited him well. A smirk appeared on his lips as he looked her up and down and she instantly regretted being dressed in tiny pyjama shorts and tee._

 _"Let go of him Tom," Ashley Marin rolled her eyes and her husband reluctantly released the boy from his grip. The poor guy looked around Hanna's age and she didn't think it made sense for someone so young to try and single-handedly steal a car._

 _"I came out if the garage and he was trying the doors to see if they were unlocked, he would of stolen it if I didn't catch him." Tom explained, glaring at the supposed thief. "We should call the police."_

 _"I wasn't going to steal your car." The boy spoke for the first time rolling his eyes and only making Tom more angry._

 _"Don't lie to me, I caught you." He spat. "Call the police Ash."_

 _She ignored him and turned to the boy as he stood in their hall way with his hands stuffed in his pockets like he couldn't care less. "What's your parents number? They can come and pick you up and you can explain what happened to them and then we'll see about phoning the police." Honestly she thought Tom was over reacting like he usually did. It was his own fault for forgetting to lock his car in the first place._

 _Hanna watched as the long haired guy stayed silent, staring straight through her father like he had done nothing wrong._

 _"Answer her!" Tom lost his temper. "What's your parents number?!"_

 _The guy shook his head and looked at his feet, completely unfazed._

 _"Fine then." Tom finalised. "We'll call the police." He grabbed the phone from the side table and started furiously tapping the numbers in until the guy spoke._

 _"I don't have any parents."_

 _"Everyone has parents." Tom rolled his eyes. "This is your last chance to give us their number."_

 _"I already told you, I don't know my parents and I wasn't trying to steal your car."_

 _"I caught you red handed!" Tom himself turned a deep shade of red with anger._

 _"Calm down Tom." Ashley sighed stepping closer to the boy with no parents. "What's your name?"_

 _He hesitated before answering. "Caleb."_

 _"Caleb what?"_

 _"Caleb Rivers."_

 _"Well Caleb, we're willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and we won't call the police." She started and Tom tried to butt in but she carried on taking. "But if anything like this happens again we won't hesitate to call them."_

 _Tom Marin looked furious as he stood beside his wife but kept him mouth shut all the same._

 _"Thanks." Caleb muttered simply before turning to the front door and opening it. He stepped out and turned his head to look Hanna up and down one last time with a cocky smirk plastered to his face._

 _She blushed even more and waited until the door was closed before she made a quick exit back up the stairs wanting to avoid the argument that was brewing between her parents and as if on cue... "Why'd you let him go Ash, he tried to steal my car!"_

 _"He's a teenager Tom, it's your fault for spending so much money on that stupid car anyway."_

 _Hanna slammed her bedroom door shut and went back to flipping trough her magazine and texting her best-friend Mona Vanderwaal about the latest school gossip, not giving a second thought to Caleb._

 _It was almost midnight when she went to her window to close her blinds for the night. She looked across the dimly light street to the wooded area across from her house and saw a figure slumped on the old wooden bench. The lighting didn't help but she eventually figured out it was Caleb Rivers: the car thief._

 _She looked back at her alarm clock and saw it was 11:59. What was he doing out so late and why was he still sat across from their house? He clearly didn't live around here, his clothes and the fact that he had tried to steal her dads car was a clear give away to that._

 _Curiosity got the better of her and before she knew what she was doing she was pulling on a hoodie and some shoes and sneaking down the stairs, past her parents who were in the kitchen and out the front door._

 _She pulled the hoodie around herself tighter, conscious that she was still dressed in her pyjamas and didn't want to give this Caleb guy the satisfaction of staring at her body again._ _She was silent as she walked over to the bench and sat down next him. His eyes were down and he lifted them slightly to look at her before they were back to staring at his feet. "Why are you still here?" Hanna asked, breaking the silence between them._

 _He looked over at her with one eyebrow raised. "It's a free country. I can sit here if I want." He muttered looking back at the ground. "Unless you wanna go tell your daddy and get him to call the cops on me again?"_

 _"I didn't mean it like that," She muttered. "I meant its late and dark and-" He cut her off._

 _"And what?"_

 _"And your on your own." She finished. "How old are you?"_

 _"Seventeen."_

 _"Do you go to Rosewood high?" She hadn't noticed him there before and she was pretty sure she would have remembered those eyes if they had met in the corridors._

 _He shook his head. "I start there tomorrow."_

 _"So your new to town?" Hanna asked. "When did you move here?"_

 _"A few days ago." He replied and Hanna just simply nodded. She didn't know why but something about him drew her in and made her want to know everything about him._ _They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Caleb spoke up again. "I wasn't trying to steal your dads car."_

 _"He said he caught you opening the door-"_

 _"I wasn't going to steal it." He insisted._

 _"Then why...?" Hanna's voice trailed off._

 _"Because," He looked down again before clearing his throat and leaning back on the bench. "It's warmer to sleep in than on a bench."_

 _"You don't have any where to sleep?" She asked, feeling sudden pity for him, he wasn't a criminal after all. "Who do you live with?" It was only then that she looked at his feet and noticed a backpack was tucked under the bench, which she presumed had his belongings in._

 _"My foster mom." His voice was quiet and Hanna could tell his words hurt to say._

 _"Why don't you stay with her?" Hanna's voice was a whisper as she sensed it was a difficult topic for him._

 _Caleb let out a bitter chuckle that failed to reach his sad eyes and bit his lip. "She pays me to stay away."_

 _Hanna eyes roamed his face and body again. It was starting to get colder as the night came in and she couldn't just leave him out here to freeze. Yet again, before she had a chance to think about what she was doing she stood up and held out her hand. "You can stay at mine for tonight, we have a spare room."_

 _Caleb looked between her face and her outstretched hand to make sure she wasn't joking before he scoffed and scuffed his foot against the ground. "You seriously think your parents are going to let me stay in your house after what happened?"_ _Hanna's hand dropped. She hadn't thought about that. "_ _And I don't even know you, you could be a family of serial killers or something." He mumbled._

 _She rolled her eyes and gave him a small smile. "I'm Hanna Marin and I promise you we are not a family of serial killers."_

 _"Your parents still aren't going to let me stay." He mumbled._

 _"They don't have to know." Was all she said as she grabbed his bag from under his feet and set off back towards her house, hoping that he would follow._

 _She knew it was risky sneaking a boy into her house right under her parents noses but she couldn't let him sleep on a bench. He was homeless and if her dad hadn't have caught him then he would have at least had the warmth of their car and the comfy seats to sleep on._

 _By the time she reached her front door Caleb was behind her with his hands tucked in his pockets. She handed him his bag and turned back around. Then, without speaking she opened the door and found all the downstairs lights off, her parents must've gone to bed. She placed her finger over her lips telling Caleb to be quiet as she lead him up the stairs._

 _Reaching the door to the spare room she opened it slightly, only to be greeted by the loud snores of her father. "Shit," She quickly closed it again realising her parents hadn't solved their argument before they went to sleep._ _She bit down on her lip as she turned to face Caleb. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when she grabbed his hand and pulled him back into her own room. "What happened to the spare room?" Caleb asked as she closed the door to her bedroom._

 _"My dads in there," She answered, watching as he set his bag down and looked around her room. She didn't know what to do now, the spare room was occupied and she could kick him back out on the streets. "You'll just have to stay in here, I guess."_ _She bit her lip again as she nervously fumbled with the sleeve of her hoodie. She was going to have to share a bed with a total stranger who just happened to be very good looking._

 _Regret was setting as she wondered if she could trust this guy to stay in her house overnight whilst her family slept. What if he stole something? Or what if he was the serial killer and was going to murder her in the middle of the night? No. She had to stop thinking like that._

 _"Why are you doing this for me?" Caleb asked, as though he had read her thoughts._

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Your going to all this effort just so I don't have to sleep on a bench. Why?"_

 _"I just wanted to help you." She shrugged giving him another small smile._

 _He nodded slowly and set his bag down. "Can I use your bathroom?"_

 _She pointed him in the direction of her en-suit, waiting until the door was closed before she flopped back onto the bed, deciding the only way to avoid the awkwardness was to be asleep... or at least fake sleeping._

 _She moved over to one side of the bed leaving Caleb enough room and pulled the duvet over herself. She turned the lamp on her side-table off and closed her eyes._ _A few minutes later she heard the bathroom door open and footsteps along her carpeted floor. Her eyes remained closed although her ears were wide open, listening to what Caleb was doing._

 _Although she couldn't see him she could feel his eyes burning through her own, probably trying to figure out if she was really asleep. She was tempted to open them so their eyes would meet again but resisted the urge until she heard him moving around again._ _She peeked through one eye and saw that he now had his back to her. She watched intently as he peeled the grey t-shirt from his chest to reveal a tanned, muscular back._

 _Her eyes quickly closed again and she stayed completely still until she felt the mattress shift and the duvet lift as he climbing in the bed beside her. His foot brushed against hers as he settled and she felt sparks fly from her toes through her whole body._

 _She didn't know how Caleb could have such an effect on her after she had only known him a couple of hours but the feelings she felt were something different and unfamiliar and something she hadn't experienced before._

 _At first his cocky smirk irritated her so much she wanted to wipe it off his face. Then, as she sat outside with him on the bench and he opened up to her she felt bad for him and just wanted to pull him in for a hug. And now, as she lay next to him in her bed too afraid to open her eyes, she felt sparks at their feet touching and a longing to be closer to him._

 _She pushed all those strange feelings down and concentrated on sleep and not the hot, shirtless guy next to her. She didn't know how long she lay there listening to his breathing, but eventually she slipped into a deep sleep..._

Hanna sighed once again as she stared at the picture of Caleb. It was over a year since they had first met and after that they grew closer and closer, through their flirty teasing at school and when he would climb into her bedroom to spend the night there without her parents finding out. But now he was gone and she didn't know when he was coming back, if he was ever going to come back to her.

Deciding that staring at his picture was doing no good she put her phone away and turned to glance out if the car window. The rain was beating down against the road creating small pools in the pot holes. "This traffic is ridiculous!" Tom muttered angrily as he kept one eye on the time. "I'm going to be late."

"Try and go around it." Ashley suggested, pointing to the truck that was parked at the side of the road, causing the huge hold up. He nodded and released his foot from the break as he mounted the curb and drove past the delivery trucks beeping lights. The rain beat down heavier against the windshield as the windscreen wipers worked frantically to clear it of water.

Suddenly, the sound of tyres screeching filled Hanna's ears and she heard her mother let out a terrified scream. The whole car swerved and she felt her body being thrown forward. Then there was a loud bang and everything went black.

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 **Tell me what you think and if I should carry on and also and questions or ideas?** **Xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone who reviewed the first chapter Xxx**

 **Also for the sake of this story can you all pretend that Tom Marin was a good father who didn't cheat on Ashley or leave, it will make more sense next chapter.**

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Chapter 2

My eyes slowly drift open as I come around. I can see the blurry outline of a tree branch above me and grey clouds that cover the dull sky. The ground beneath me feels hard and cold and I reach down to feel what I think is concrete. My head spins slightly as my eyes adjust to the light and I close them. My hole body feels numb and cold and tingly and my head hurts.

Then the sound of an ambulance and flashing lights grab my attention and I instantly remember what happened.

The car crash.

I let out a gasp as I jolt forward and sit up to see two or three ambulances and a police car all parked on the road surrounding a wreck of metal.

I slowly stand up as two paramedics walk past and call out to them. "Hello," They don't seem to hear me so I step closer. "Can you help me?" Again, they ignore me and step into an ambulance to retrieve some supplies.

As I stumble closer I realise that the wreck of metal sat in the middle of the road is my Dads car. It's rolled over on its top and shattered into pieces of crushed metal and glass.

It doesn't even look like a car anymore.

I gasp again at the thought of my parents and look around, hoping to see them somewhere. "Mom?" I call. "Dad?"

There's no reply and I can't see them anywhere. A small group of medics are gathered in a circle and I make my way over to them to get help, hoping they will be able to tell me where my parents are and if they're okay. As I get closer though, I see they are working on someone and my breath gets caught in my throat when I realise...

It's me.

Theres an oxygen mask placed over my face and bleeding cuts all over my body. I force myself to look away as two more people come over, carrying a stretcher. They all mumble as they lift my body onto it and into the back of an ambulance.

"Prepare a trauma unit," A paramedic called. "Hanna Marin, seventeen," It's startles me when he says my name and it's a reminder it's me their talking about. "Serious head injury, punctured lung and possible right arm break."

"Trauma?" I ask. "What does that mean?" I run a hand through my hair nervously and look around. "This can't be happening." I whisper to myself. "This isn't happening." I spin around and look at the other drivers who have gathered around, simply staring in shock and horror. "Please," I almost scream to myself. "Please wake up."

But I don't.

My body remain still as the medics around me carry on with what they're doing. "Am I dead?" I ask myself. "Did I die?"

That was my first thought as I stood watching injured body lying in the cold hard ground and not being inside it. Maybe my soul is transferring from my body to wherever it goes when you die. But I can't be dead. If I was dead the paramedics wouldn't be still working on me; they would've given up and helped whoever was working on my parents.

"What's happening?" I scream as loud as I can. A few minutes ago I was on my way to school like any normal day. I was Hanna Marin; the girl who thought about clothes and fashion and Caleb and now... now I don't know what's happening to me, if I'm dead or alive or somewhere in between.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when one of the doors on the ambulance my body is in is clicked shut. Quickly I step in through the other door and move towards the back before its closed and the ambulance starts to move.

I just stand at the back and watch as the medics carry on working on me all the way to the hospital. It doesn't take long for us to arrive and I follow them out of the ambulance and through the hospital to a ward.

There's a rush of people all coming at my body once the stretcher is pushed through the doors. "We're taking her straight through to surgery." A doctor calls and I have to jog to keep up with them.

The operating room is small with bright lights and lots of technical equipment. Another oxygen mask is placed over my mouth and a blood bag is hooked up to my arm. I stand back a little as they rip through my clothes to get to my injuries and begin to cut into my skin.

I don't really understand what's going on until a doctor moves to stand by my head and adjusts the mask. Her hands run through my blonde hair and it comforts me although I can't feel it. My mom used to run her hands through my hair just like that whenever I was upset or sick and somehow the doctor reminds me of her.

My mind flicks back to my Mom and my Dad. I need to find out where they are. If they're alive or...

A nurse opens the door quickly and hands another nurse a blood bag allowing me to slip through the door. I look around the pale, bleak hospital hoping that someone will see me and can help me find my parents. There's a woman behind the desk who looks friendly enough so I try asking her. "Excuse me, do you know anything about my parents, we were in a car crash?" She doesn't reply so I look down at the clip board of notes on top of the desk. The woman behind it pulls them away as she moves to talk to a doctor. "I was looking at that." I murmur.

Another stretcher is wheeled through the doors, surrounded by paramedics and I instantly recognise the auburn-red hair to be my Mother. Her hair is all I can see as she too has an oxygen mask covering her face but it's enough to recognise her.

Before I can get a proper look she's wheeled into an operating room and out of sight. A small sigh of relief leaves my lips, at least I know she's alive.

"That was Ashley Marin, her daughter Hanna was brought in a couple of minutes ago, they're both in surgery." I hear the woman behind the desk explain to the doctor. "The fathers still on his way in an ambulance," She explains and I take another sigh of relief. My Dads alive too. "It's not looking good."

Those four words suck that sigh of relief straight back through my lips. My eyes well with tears as I slide down the desk and bring my knees up to my chest.

I close my eyes and lean my forehead on my knees. My body is still cold and the plain hospital walls are lonely. I want to talk to my Mom and Dad, I want to hug them and and feel safe again. I want to know what's happening to me and why nobody can see me or hear me.

I've had nightmares before. When I was younger I used to get them all the time from watching scary films. I always opened my eyes though and woken up in time to stop the horror movie that was playing in my head and I try that now.

My eyes open and I'm still stuck in the hospital. Still sat on the cold floor and trying not to cry. This nightmare won't end.

My eyes close again as I try one more time, hoping that when I wake up I'll be back inside the car, driving to school with my parents safe in the front seats and this will all be a dream. A sick twisted dream.

But it doesn't work. I'm still here.

* * *

 _..."Where were you this morning? I missed our catch up before first period." Mona Vanderwaal asked as her best friend approached._

 _"I got held up." Hanna replied, glancing quickly around the hall to see if he was here._

 _"You'll never guess what?" Mona looked at Hanna excitedly but didn't wait for her to guess before she answered. "Noel Khan invited me to his party on Friday night."_

 _Hanna forced a smile onto her face. She was happy for Mona after having watched her flirt her ass off with Noel for most of the year but she couldn't really concentrate now._

 _"Sean's coming and Noel told me to bring you too." Mona carried on and Hanna just nodded in response as her eyes scanned the school hallway for any signs of him._

 _She had woken up this morning to an empty bed with Caleb no where to be seen. His bag was gone and the window of her room was cracked open. Her heart had dropped a little when she realised he was gone but soon picked up when she remembered he was starting at Rosewood High today._

 _She turned her head back to Mona just as Caleb rounded a corner and her head instantly shot back towards him as she watched him key in the code of his locker and open it._

 _"Hanna, are you even listening to me? I got you a date with Sean Ackard, you've been obsessed with him for years." Mona clicked her fingers in front of Hanna's face. "What are you staring at?" She followed Hanna's gaze to Caleb. "Oh, he's the new boy." She rolled her eyes. "I don't know his name but he needs a hair cut and a shower."_

 _"Caleb." Hanna muttered._

 _"What?"_

 _"He's called Caleb." She looked back at Mona. "Caleb Rivers."_

 _"How do you know that? He's been here like an hour." Mona asked confused._

 _Hanna sighed and bit her lip. "He slept at my place last night." She confessed._

 _"What?!" Mona gasped her eyes darting between Hanna and the new guy. "Did you loose your v-card?"_

 _"No!" Hanna shrieked. "Nothing happened. He didn't have anywhere to stay so I let him sleep at mine." She shrugged moving along to her own locker._

 _"Well, that was a waist." Mona rolled her eyes and stuffed a book in her bag. "I have English, I'll see you later."_

 _Hanna watched her walk away before she looked around the hallway again. Caleb was still stood at his locker with a phone in his hand so she looked around making sure no one was paying attention to what she was doing and made her way over to him. "Hi."_

 _Caleb lifted his head and raised an eyebrow, unashamedly looking her up and down. "What?"_

 _"Are you okay?" She asked ignoring the way he looked at her._

 _"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked closing his locker and turning so he was facing her._

 _"You weren't there when I woke up this morning," She bit her lip again. "How did you get out?"_

 _"Your window."_

 _"Oh," She nodded and he watched her as she tried to subtly glance around again checking if anyone could see her talking to him. "Don't tell anyone that you slept with me- I- I mean in my bed." Her words all came out wrong as she stuttered and hoped her makeup concealed her blush._

 _He smirked at her and bit his lip knowingly. "And what if I did?"_

 _"Just please don't." She said more confidently before she adjusted her bag on her shoulder ready to walk away. She looked at him again and their eyes met. A sudden flash of pity came over her as she looked deep into his dark eyes. It seemed that everyone had already decided he was trouble from what she had heard around school that morning. He had already been given a bad reputation and yet no one knew him. Even her parents had decided about him without knowing the truth about the car incident last night but she knew he wasn't going to steal it and after spending the night next to him, a part of her already trusted that he was a god person. "My parents have made up," She added. "So the spare room is still available if you need it."_

 _Without another word exchanged Caleb watched as she strutted off to her next class, not giving him a second glance. That Hanna Marin was not the Hanna Marin that he had met last night._

 _Last night she had shown him more kindness that anyone had in a long time by giving him a place to stay but now she was parading around the school with her designer clothes and perfect hair and makeup and not batting an eyelid who anyone she deemed less important than herself. Which included himself._

 _Although he didn't miss the way her eyes searched for him as soon as she entered the corridor or how she made the effort to ask how he was and remind him that her offer of the spare room still stood. He hated the pity that had been all over her face as she looked at him though and as much as she was playing it cool and acting like it was no big deal, he could see though her front and knew she cared._

 _He had lay awake for most of the night watching her sleep- he knew it was creepy but he could help it. The way her perfect lips parted ever so slightly as she took slow, easy breaths made him want to watch her forever. And when he eventually gave into sleep himself knowing he was safe in her house, he had woken up as the sun had started to rise and looked down to find her hand resting on his bare chest and her head lying by his with her soft breaths tickling the skin on his neck._

 _He had wanted to close his eyes and stay like that forever- just lying there with her tucked up into his side but he knew he couldn't. He had to get out of there before her parents came in and found the criminal in their daughters bed._

 _He shook his head as he watched her disappear around a corner and sighed before heading to his next class._

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 **I hope you liked and let me know if you'd like a preview of the next chapter xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all your reviews last chapter xx**

 **Guest- 10 chapters and I havent even thought about an epilouge yet so I dont know.**

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Chapter Three

I don't know how much time has passed since I've been sat here with my back to the desk, watching as doctors and nurses strolled past not noticing me. I don't know if it's been minutes or hours. There's no natural light in the dull hospital, it's all blindingly bright and artificial and the only sound is the quiet hum of the medical equipment and occasional conversations between people passing.

My head shoots up when the door to the surgery room I was in opens and my body is wheeled out on a stretcher. I quickly stand up and follow them to a different ward where they roll me into a separate room with a large window.

My legs take me to the window and I look out of it to see that the sky is a dark grey although it doesn't look like its past lunch time. The rain has started again and it's heavy, creating huge puddles in the car-park that I look down on.

When I turn back around the last of the nurses are leaving my room and I immediately step closer to my lifeless body. My skin is a pale grey colour and my hair a dull shade of blonde. My eyes are tight shut and all I want to do is open them so I can be back inside my body but I can't and I start to wonder if I'll have to wait for the doctors to wake me up before I can return to it.

There's a tube going into my nose and another mask covering my lips. I lean closer as I count the stitches on my temple and then on my collarbone. Six on my face and eleven on my chest and that's not all. There's a cast on my right arm which I presume is broken and a bandage dressing peaking out from under the disgusting hospital gown they have put me in. I'm tempted to look under it and see how big the bandage is but decide against it. If they've cut me in half then I don't want to know.

I return to the windowsill and sit on it with my legs up and my knees to my chest again, hoping to get some comfort or familiarity from watching the people outside but the comfort comes from someone else.

After sitting there for I don't know how long I hear a voice I'd recognise anywhere and sit up in time to see my Grandma being lead down the hall way by a nurse with Ella and Aria Montgomary following behind. "What's going on?" She asks, looking flustered. "Where's my Hanny?"

The nurse leads them to a seating area that looks like a waiting room and waits for them to go in but something catches my Grandma's eye and she gasps. "Oh dear lord!" She's peaking through the glass on the door of the room I'm in. "My poor, sweet, baby. What happened?"

"Please Mrs Marin," The nurse says politely. "The social worker will explain everything once she arrives." My Grandma nods reluctantly and follows Aria and her Mother to the seats. I see Aria turn around and look at my body with tears in her eyes before her Mom places a hand on her shoulder and they sit down.

A middle aged woman dressed in black pants and a shirt arrives and I guess she's the social worker. "Hello," She smiles warmly. "I'm Andrea and I'm going to be the social worker for your family, I'm basically the person who communicates between you and the doctors."

My Grandma nods as she grips her handbag, nervously. "I'm Regina, Toms Mother."

The social worker turns to Mrs Montgomery. "Are you family too?" She asks.

"No," She shakes her head. "We're neighbours but Aria is one of Hanna's best friends."

The woman nods and looks between them all. "Is there anymore family that will be arriving?"

"Most of the family is spread across the country." My Grandma shakes her head.

"There's some more friends arriving any minute." Ella added.

"I can wait for them to arrive if you like?" Andrea offered.

"Please," My Grandma begged. "Just tell us what's happened."

The social worker nodded and took a seat with her file on her knee. "Early this morning Tom, Ashley and Hanna were involved in a serious car accident." She began. "We believe that there was a lot of traffic and due to the weather the roads were in a bad condition and their car skidded off the road." She looked up to see their reaction before she carried on. "It crashed into a tree and was overturned, throwing Hanna and Ashley out of the car." She paused as my Grandma gasped and Ella did her best to comfort her and Aria who was now crying. "But Tom was trapped inside."

My Grandma's hand shook as she brought them up to her forehead and shook her head. "Please tell me they're all okay?"

"Tom was cut free but I'm afraid that all the information I have on him right now. I promise as soon as I here anything I'll come straight here and tell you." She offered a warm, comforting smile to my Grandma.

"What about Ashley and Hanna?" Ella asked, her hand resting on my Grandmothers shoulder.

"They both went straight into surgery and Ashley is still there now but Hanna's out and in a critical condition." All three of them turned to look in the direction of my room and Ella too had tears threatening to fall too. "She's still sedated from surgery and on a ventilator to help her breath. The doctors are doing some tests to see if she'll be able to breath on her own soon." Andrea closed the file in her hands. "That's all the information I have right now but I'll keep you updated."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Mrs Montgomery asked, forcing a small smile.

"Not right now." Andrea replied. "Stay positive and hopefully they'll all be okay." With that she left them to sit and wait.

I sigh as I realise I'm stood at the door and move back to the windowsill, not wanting to see my Grandma so upset. I've never seen her cry before. She is always so strong and determined and has fought through a lot in her life that nothing really phases her and I hope that when I'm older I'll be like her.

If I ever get to that age...

I shake my head of that thought and remember what Andrea told them. They'll do the test and take me off the breathing machine and I'll wake up and everything will be okay. My parents will be okay and we'll be one of them families featured on Good Morning America for surviving against all odds.

That's if my parents do survive...

This time I cant shake the thought from my head as much as I try. My Mom's still in surgery and my Dad had to be cut from the car. He was still inside the metal wreck that was lying overturned on the road. There's no way someone could survive that, right?

I squeeze my eyes shut as I tell myself everything will be okay. Over and over and over until the door to my room opens and a Doctor walks in and I recognise her as the one that stroked my head in the operating room.

She moves around my bed, checking all the monitors and scribbling down things in the file at the foot of my bed. When she's done she moves up to my head and tucks some of my hair behind my ear. "Hey beautiful," She grins in a deep voice. "My shift is it now but I'll be back here tomorrow and you better still be here." I swallow as her words sink in. "You've got you whole life ahead of you, so here's the secret baby; if you live if you die, it's all up to you. Whatever fight you got in you, you gotta pull it out now." She stroked my cheek on more time before she left the room, leaving her words to circle around my head.

It's all up to me.

* * *

I watch from the door of my room as Spencer and Emily are shown into the waiting room and Aria immediately stands up to hug them. They're all crying and have mascara smudges down their cheeks as they cling onto each other and Aria explains what's happened.

Ella sits towards the back next to my Grandma with a cup of coffee in her hand. They've both stopped crying and Grandma seems to have calmed down a little from earlier. Maybe the kind Doctor visited her and told her I was okay or maybe she got some more news on Mom or Dad and knows they're okay too?

The girls settle into their seats as everyone looks up and I see Mona strut into the waiting room. Her heals click against the floor and her designer handbag sways in her hand as takes a seat across from the girls. "Are they letting anyone in to see her?" She asks.

Aria shakes her head. "They have to do some tests first and wait until she wakes up."

Mona nods silently and sets her handbag down. "How are you so calm?" Spencer asks, her voice cracking as she wipes away a tear before it can fall. She's normally the strong one in the group that holds everyone together but to see her crumbling too makes it all seem more terrifying.

"Hanna's still here, isn't she?" Mona replies. "She's still alive so until she's zipped up in a body bag and lying in the morgue, I'm not loosing it." I can't help but smile at Mona's forwardness and failure to beat around the bush. She looks up at the three other girls who are a little shocked and softens her expression. "She's a fighter, she'll survive."

Why does everyone keep saying that? Why do they keep telling me I'm a fighter and I need to keep fighting? I've never fought for anything as serious as my life before. I suppose all them summers I spent at fat camp I was fighting against the bullies and the temptation to give up and cry into a tub of Chunky Monkey but that all seems so stupid now. Sure it gave me confidence and made me actually like the way my body looked but weight doesn't matter now. All that matters is living or dying and I don't know if I'm strong enough to fight for my life.

"Is everyone here?" The social worker asks as she approaches the waiting area and snaps me out if my thoughts.

I look around and then I realise that the person I want to see most isn't here.

Caleb.

There's been no mention of him and yet he's the one person I really want to see. My Grandma doesn't have his phone number so she won't have called him which means he won't know what's happened. The girls could try calling him but he's been ignoring my calls so he probably won't answer theirs. My heart sinks as I realise he's hundreds of miles away and has no idea what's happened to me. He doesn't know that I'm lying in a hospital bed, unconscious and clinging onto life.

I really want to see him though; I want to feel his soft touch, his gentle kisses and hear his rough voice more than anything right now. But I cant.

My Grandma nods and Andrea gives her a soft smile. "Hanna is still unconscious but her vital signs are improving." I take a sigh of relief at that and so does everyone else in the room. "We're still waiting on the test results to see how her lungs are functioning and whether she can be weened off the ventilator."

"How long until we know?" My Grandma interrupts.

"I'm not sure," Andrea replies. "But it's a good step if she can breath on her own. We don't know when she'll wake up and the extent of damage to her brain. The first twenty-four hours are critical and she's getting the best care possible."

They all nod and share small smiles before Ella asks about my parents. "I have no further information on Ashley but Tom," She clears her throat and moves to sit down. Her hands clasp together as she softens her gaze again and speaks. "Tom received most of the impact from the crash in the drivers seat and once he was cut from the car he was brought here in an ambulance." She lowers eyes and I know what's coming next. "I'm so sorry but Tom died on the way to hospital. The paramedics tried to revive him but it was too late."

A loud sob comes from my Grandma and I close my eyes as tears tumble down my cheeks too, the social workers words stinging every part of my body. My hands cover my eyes as I move to the windowsill again and curl up into a ball with my knees to my chest as tears stream down my cheeks as Andrea's words repeat in my head.

He's dead.

My dad is dead.

Before now everything felt like a dream, like a nightmare that I would wake up from eventually but now it's starting to sink in how real all this is. I'm cold although I don't shiver or get goosebumps but inside I feel so drained, so lifeless, so dead. My eyes close and my mind flashes back to a time when I felt the complete opposite to what I feel now. The last time I felt so alive...

* * *

 **So it's a bit of an emotional chapter and I hope you understand why Tom had to be a better father in this story because Hanna ataully had to be upset about his death.**

 **A lot of you have been asking about Caleb and there's still one more chapter before he arrives.**

 **Let me know what you think, if you'd like a preview and what you think is going to happen next. Xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you as always for all your reviews last chapter xx**

 **Guest- More details on Haleb Baby 3, well its set quite a few years after 2 I think I'm going to have the kids 14 and 15 and there will be some surprises and some drama and lots of Haleb.**

* * *

Chapter Four

 _...Caleb watched intently as Hanna said goodbye with a frown on her face to the three brown haired girls outside the class room before she made her way into the detention. She took one look in his direction before she was rolling her eyes and taking a seat next to him. "Hey Princess," He smirked, leaning back in his chair._

 _It had been three weeks since he had moved to Rosewood and three weeks since she had first let him stay in her bed. They had an unspoken agreement to keep the fact that he had taken her up on her offer of the spare room multiple times a secret. Her not wanting anyone to know she was friends with the sketchy new kid and him not wanting anyone to know that he had no where to sleep._

 _He didn't know what was really going on between them behind the flirty-teasing and eye rolling but he wasn't willing to risk anything more for fear of loosing her completely._

 _"Why are you here?" She asked looking towards the front where Mr Flannel was sat reading a book and paying no attention to what the students were doing._

 _"Detention." He shrugged._

 _"Really?" She raised her eyebrows sarcastically. "I didn't think you were the type to show up to detentions."_

 _"And I didn't think you were the type to get them in the first place." He shot back although she was right. This was the first time he had actually shown up and all because he had seen a pink DT slip being handed to her by the PE teacher earlier that morning._

 _Hanna sat back in her chair and folded her arms. "Now I'm missing a shopping trip with the girls." She huffed._

 _Caleb smirked at her. "Don't pretend you don't love the fact that your stuck next to me for the next hour."_ _Hanna pulled out her phone and ignored him. She wouldn't admit it but the annoyance of being stuck at school an extra hour for not participating in cross-country eased when she saw him._ _"So," Caleb turned to look at her again. "You've finally dumped Mona?"_

 _"Why would you think that?" Hanna scowled._

 _"Because you were with them three other girls before. I don't blame you if you have she's a sneaky little b-"_

 _"Don't talk about Mona like that." Hanna snapped at him. "And I'm allowed more than one friend even if your stuck with just me."_

 _Caleb bit his lip to hold back a grin as she slipped up and admitted she was his friend. She seemed not to noticed though and returned to picking at her nail polish. "Well I call 'em like I see 'em."_

 _"What is your problem with Mona?" Hanna snapped, she didn't like him talking about her best friend like that._

 _"I've already told you, she owes me money for upgrading her phone."_

 _"She said she payed you."_

 _"She gave me twenty dollars and a piece of gum. She owes another forty."_

 _"Don't you have enough customers?" Hanna rolled her eyes. She couldn't count the amount of phones she'd seen him working on in the last few weeks._

 _"That's not the point." He muttered. "I don't get what you see in her as a friend."_

 _"We've been through a lot together." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked down._

 _Caleb glanced over at her and could tell it was a sensitive topic by the way her shoulders were raised tensely. He wondered what she was so insecure about that she would cling onto someone like Mona for confidence._ _She was beautiful and funny and smart in her own kind of way. She didn't have anything to be insecure about which she let everyone knows as she strutted around school with her designer bags and heals. But clearly there was something from her past that scared her and he wanted to know what it was._

 _Ten minutes later and Hanna was bored out of her mind. Her phone had just died and she didn't bring anything else to entertain herself with. She looked over at Caleb who was working on a phone. He had been silent since their conversation about Mona ended and she was glad then but now talking to him seemed to be the only thing to pass the time._

 _She reached over and tapped his arm. "Where did you move here from?"_

 _"Allentown." He replied, not moving his eyes off the phone in his hands._

 _She wasn't surprised to hear he was from there. It was scruffy and dodgy- pretty much like him. "Who did you live there with?"_

 _"A foster family."_

 _"We're they nice?"_

 _"No." He dead-panned turning to look at her._

 _"Oh," She bit her lip already knowing she wasn't going to get a answer to the next question she was going to ask. "When's the last time you saw your real parents?"_

 _He cleared his throat and looked down. "It's going to take a lot more than detention together to hear about them."_

 _She nodded, understanding that his parents were a difficult topic for him and let her eyes wonder back to the clock as she went back to thinking of everything she could be doing right down until Caleb abruptly stood up beside her. "What are you doing?"_

 _"Getting out of here." He replied, pointing to the front where Mr. Flannel was asleep with his head on the desk. "And your coming too." Before she could stop him he grabbed her arm and started leading her out of the classroom._

 _"Where are we going?" She asked, grabbing her bag before it was out of reach._

 _"I want to show you something." Was all he said as he lead her out the back entrance of the school and up the hill into the wooded area._

 _They were both silent as she followed him through the leaves and twigs that scattered the floor. She was seriously regretting following him now as she looked down at her Jimmy Choo's that would be ruined by the time she got home, but she didn't stop. Something inside of her was compelling her to follow him deeper and deeper into the forest._

 _Ten minutes into the trees, they came to a clearing with a grassy top and stopped. Hanna let out a little gasp as she looked down at the view of Rosewood from up here. It was beautiful. The early autumn colours made the town look like it was from a cute, old fashioned movie._ _In the silence, the sound of water lapping could be herd and she stepped closer to Caleb to find that the clearing was a ledge above a small pool in the hillside. She had no idea Rosewood could be so natural and bewitching._

 _Caleb stepped back and sat on the grass with his legs dangling over the edge. Hanna joined him and leant back on her hands. "How did you know about this place?" She asked in amazement. "You've been here three weeks and I've lived here my whole life and never knew about it."_

 _His eyes didn't move from the water below as she asked him. This was the only part of Rosewood untouched by the residents and that's why he liked it so much. It was free from the judging eyes and convicting whispers of every single person that lived in the small town. It was his place and now he was sharing it with her._

 _"Because Han, your life is boring as hell." He replied. "You stay stuck in your routine of shopping and painting your nails. You need to live a little."_

 _"I am not stuck in a routine." She mumbled, unconvincingly._

 _"Your life is so fucking perfect." He mumbled under his breath._

 _Hanna's head snapped up at that. He may be partially right about being stuck in a routine but her life definitely wasn't perfect. "How can you say that? You don't even know me."_

 _"Tell me then." He looked straight at her, wanting to know everything about her. She looked straight back at him for a few seconds as her eyes scanned his face and he could tell she was deliberating what to say._

 _"I used to be fat." Her lips confessed before her brain could stop them. A light blush spread across her cheeks and she looked down as tears began to cloud her vision._ _Caleb didn't say anything but sat up straight, letting her know he was listening._ _"My nickname was Hefty Hanna and I used to get bullied for my weight." She tried to laugh but instead more tears filled her eyes. "I went to fat camp like every summer until I lost all the weight and that's how I met Mona." She looked down and picked at the grass. "She was the towns looser and we were both in need of major makeovers and that's what we got."_

 _Caleb watched as she blinked away the tears in her eyes as he shifted his gaze to her body. She had curves in all the right places and he would never had guess that she'd been overweight. He nudged his knee against hers making her look up, "Your beautiful now." His voice was gentle and his eyes scanned her features._

 _She flashed him a little smile and looked down, blushing, before she brushed away the grass she had torn and looked back at him. "What happened to your real parents?" After everything she had told him he didn't have an excuse not to tell her about them now._

 _He sighed and bit his lip, his eyes fixed ahead. "I never met my father," He started, "When I was five my Mom drove me to my aunts house so she could go shopping. She never came back." Hanna watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed and shifted uncomfortably. "When I was ten she sent me a birthday card, it said 'Happy Birthday, Love Mom', that's it." He took another deep breath as his voice wracked with pain. "I should've been pissed, right? But I was so happy to get that card."_

 _They fell into silence as Hanna sat there, not knowing what to say. Her heart hurt for him and what he had to go through at such a young age. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like be all alone with no parents the comfort you or have no one to belong to- nowhere to belong._

 _Both of her parents had always been their, right from the very start of her life. They weren't perfect parents but they loved her and she knew they would do anything for her and without them she wouldn't know what to do with herself._

 _Now her past seemed nothing compared to his. He had been tossed away and passed around foster homes since he was a child whilst she buried her face in tubs of Chunky Monkey and sang along to Katy Perry._

 _All of a sudden Caleb stood up next to her and held out his hand to help her up. "What are you doing?" She asked curiously._

 _"Taking you out of your comfort zone." He grinned as she stood up and their serious moods shifted from the deep conversation to a happier one._

 _"I'm fine in my comfort zone thank you." She rolled her eyes._

 _"See? Your stuck in your stupid little routing, you can't break out of it."_

 _"I can." She folded her arms._

 _Caleb looked back at her with his eyebrows raised, unconvinced. "Take your clothes off then."_

 _"Excuse me?!" She scoffed and watched as he pulled his off his jacket and then his black t-shirt._

 _"Take your clothes off." He repeated, moving to unbuckled his belt and slipping down his jeans. "We're gonna jump off this into that." He pointed at the pool below them, as he stood in only his boxers._

 _"No way." Hanna scoffed, her eyes locked on his face as she willed them not to travel down his tanned, toned body._

 _"See? I was right," He smirked. "You won't leave your comfort zone."_

 _Hanna huffed and looked down. There was no way she was going to jump off the ledge into the water and have her hair and makeup all messed up, but on the other hand there was no way she was going to let Caleb be proved right. She closed her eyes for a second before her hands were at the zip of her skirt and it pooled at her ankles._ _Caleb tried not to stare at her long legs as she stepped out of her shoes and placed them with her skirt and bag, he wasn't lying earlier when he said she was beautiful. "What if it's dangerous?" She asked joining him on the edge._

 _"That's the whole point." He replied, looking down at her top before back at her, waiting for her to take it off._

 _She just ignored him. No way was she taking her top off. Jumping off was scary enough without the thought of Caleb seeing her in just her underwear even if he had a pretty good view of her pink lace panties right now. "I can't believe I'm doing this." She whispered to herself as she inched forward and curled her toes over the edge ready to jump._

 _Caleb stood next to her, watching her every move with a small smile on his face. "Are you ready?"_

 _She closed her eyes and grabbed his hand, holding it as tight as possible before she squeaked out her answer. "I don't think s-"_ _She didn't have the time to finish as Caleb jumped forward, pulling her with with him and they both went crashing downwards. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she screamed as loud as possible before ice-cold water was surrounding her body._ _The pool was surprisingly deep and her toes only scrapped the bottom before she pushed off and swam up to the surface. She looked around and saw Caleb resurface behind her so swam over to him. "That was amazing!" She laughed with shivering lips. However dangerous it was, she had never felt so carefree and alive before. And she loved it._

 _"Are you glad you jumped now?" He asked his hands coming to rest on her sides as they caught their breath._ _She nodded and looked into his dark eyes. They had a wild glint that made her heart clench and her stomach flutter. His long hair was wet and sticking to his face so she reached forward and pushed it back._

 _Caleb looked down at her as she placed her hands on his shoulder to help herself float. Her eyes were glistening a bright shade of blue and drawing him in._ _He tightened the grip on her hips and glanced down to her pink lips. He wanted to kiss her so badly, more than he had ever wanted anything before but he didn't know if she'd let him._ _She noticed his eyes on her lips and fought away a blush before she let the urge to look at his lips too take over. Her hand left his should and ran around to the back of his neck where she grasped his wet hair between her fingers and she looked at his plump lips too._ _His head dropped forward so they're noses were touching and looked back into her eyes. They told him everything._

 _He didn't waist a second more and pushed his lips against hers. Warmth and electricity spreading throughout her whole body as they stood in the freezing cold water, with connected lips._ _She tugged on his hair as they carried on kissing as he pushed his tongue between her lips. She let out a quiet moan as he pulled away and looked down to see her reaction._ _She bit down in her own lip and retracted her hand from his hair as reality caught up with her and she realised what had just happened. She pushed his hands away from her then and started swimming to the side._

 _"Wait!" Caleb called but she was already lifting herself out of the water. He swam after her and hoped out easily. "Hanna wait!"_

 _She stopped walking and turned around to face him, her hands wrapped around herself as she shivered. "We shouldn't have done that." She muttered, looking down at her bare feet._

 _He stood in front of her in only his soaking wet boxers and reached for her hand. "I-" She pulled her hand away before he could speak and was back to storming up the hill for her clothes._ _He followed her and watched as she tugged on her skirt and shoes and picked up her bag, still shivering. "Here." Caleb sighed, handing her his jacket as he pulled his jeans on._

 _"Thanks." She murmured quickly before she set off walking in the direction they came._

 _"Hanna wait-" Caleb called out again and was cut off again._

 _"I can find my own way home." She replied not bothering to look back at him as she slipped in to his green jacket and started to stumble back through the forest._ _His cent wrapped around her as she closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her lips that were still tingling from being in contact with Caleb's._ _She glanced back quickly and saw that he was slumped back on the ground, looking out at the view of Rosewood with his head hung low._ _She felt a wave of guilt wash over her for leaving him there just as confused as she was about their kiss. She knew she couldn't be with him, they were both so different that a romantic relationship between them would never work out, although deep down she knew she wasn't going to be able to turn off her feelings for him quite so easily as she had managed to walk away..._

* * *

 **Let me know if you'd like a preview xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Darkness falls on Rosewood as I stare out of the window and down at the car park below. I think it's late evening as my Grandma left not so long ago after Aria's Mom told her it would do nothing for their health to sleep in a cold plastic chair all night so she left but the girls decided to stay.

My own Mom crosses my mind and I feel the pain in my chest increase at the thought of her waking up and finding out my Dad is dead.

My Dad is dead.

It's been hours since the news was announced and yet it's only just sinking in. I sat on the cold windowsill for hours and cried my eyes out until there was no more tears left.

He's really dead.

I'm never going to get to see him or speak to him again. He wasn't the perfect Father, but he loved me and Mom and that's all that really matters now.

They had been together since they were teenagers and although their relationship has been strained over the past few years because of money and work, they still in love and would do anything for each other and me. We used to clash sometimes too over stupid things like school and Caleb and collage and disagreed more than we agreed but all that is forgotten now. He's my Dad and I love him and now he's gone.

He'll never hug me again or get to see me graduate high school or start collage. He'll never walk me down the isle or meet his grandchildren and what hurts the most is I'll never get to say goodbye, not properly.

I can't remember the last thing I said to him. It must have been when I mumbled something about him giving me a lift because of the rain earlier this morning. Now twelve hours later he's dead and me and Mom are clinging onto our lives.

I've stopped crying but my tears don't stop. They keep rolling silently down my cheek as I stare out the window. I feel so alone, now more than ever knowing that when I wake up- if I wake up, my Dad won't be there waiting for me.

I'm pulled from my thoughts, however, when the sound of tyres screeching echoes through the car park below and I glance down into the night to see a taxi pull up at the main entrance. The car door swings open and I catch a glimpse at who steps out, instantly recognising the kakhi green jacket and dark tendrils of hair.

He's here.

Caleb's finally here.

He rushes inside, ducking his head as rain pours out of the sky and is soon out of sight. I stop for a second to wonder how he found out about me and how he got here so soon.

I start to stand from the windowsill but my leg freezes as I gulp and my whole body feels paralysed at the thought of Caleb as I realise that I don't think I'm ready to see him.

What if he's upset and crying? I've seen him cry before, twice I think, and it always breaks my heart. He's always so strong in front of people that if he's crying, if he's crumbled too, then it'll kill me. Forget the collapsed lung and medically induced coma; seeing Caleb in tears will be the death of me.

The dim, night-time quiet of the hospital is interrupted when a loud voice bellows down the corridor. "What do you mean I can't go in?!"

I race over to the glass door, forgetting about not being ready when his deep voice fills my ears and I get there in time to see Caleb stood at the end of the hallway with two tired looking nurses stood in front of him, blocking his path to me.

His face is blank, like someone's wiped away all his personality, leaving only a mask of worry and dread. His eyebrows are furrowed as he looks down at the nurses and he looks angry but at least he's not crying. The only water on his face is the rain that he ignores as it drips from his scruffy hair.

"No one is allowed in at the minute whilst the doctors wait for test results." One of the nurses tries to explain but Caleb doesn't pay attention and pushes past them.

His eyes flicker over to the waiting area where they linger on Mona for a few seconds before they go back to scanning the ward.

I rush forward and place the palms of my hands against the glass in hope that somehow he will be able to see me and relief fills my insides when something catches his eyes and he head straight for me.

Within seconds his hands are slamming against the glass, mirroring mine. I look up and expect our eyes to meet but they don't. The excitement that had risen inside me plummets to the ground as he stares straight through me to my limp, lifeless body, reminding me that I'm invisible to him.

By now I had figured that I could see people and they couldn't see me but a tiny part of me hoped that with Caleb it would be different. I hoped that he would see me and he would be the one to help me wake up, but I guess I'm wrong.

I look straight into his beautiful, brow orbs and all I see is pain. They're glistening with tears although none fall and his lips are pursed as he tries to hold in his emotions.

He snaps out of his stare and tries to push the door open, frantically pressing all the buttons to try and unlock it until a nurse steps beside him. "You can't go in there." She tells him sternly. "Do I need to call security and have you removed from the building?"

Caleb ignores her and carries in trying the door to my room. By now everyone who is here for me is on their feet trying to find out what all the commotion is about.

"Step away from the door." The nurse commands and I watch her signal to another nurse with her hand before a tall muscular man steps over to Caleb and grabs his upper arm, dragging him away.

"This is bullshit!" He yells, trying to get free from the security guards grip. "I just want to see her." He looks back into my room with desperate eyes and I wish the nurses would have some sympathy towards him but they don't.

The security guard hauls him over to the waiting area and dumps him into an empty seat. "I'm watching you." He grunts before walking away with the nurses following.

Caleb stands up again but is stopped when Emily moves to stand in front of him. "Don't." She shakes her head and pleads with him not to start any trouble.

His swallows reluctantly and glances over to my room again before he nods his head and slumps back down into his seat. "Can you at least tell me what happened?"

She nods her head and moves to sit next to him, looking over at Spencer and Aria opposite. "There was a car crash this morning," She began. "We don't know a lot about it but Hanna's got a punctured lung and she's in a coma." Emily's voice wavers as she explains.

"A medically induced coma." Spencer corrected her. "The doctors put her in it so she'll wake up with limited brain injuries." She explains but looks down as she adds. "If she wakes up..."

Caleb's head nods as he swallows a lump in his throat. "What about her parents?"

"Her Mom is out of surgery and that all we know about her but her Dad.." Spencer looked down again as she wipes away a stray tear. "Her Dad died on the way here."

"He's dead?" Caleb gulped is disbelief. "H-how did he die?"

"The doctors said he took all the impact from the crash and had to be cut out of the car, I guess he was too badly injured."

Caleb's gaze locks on his feet as I watch him take in all the information and process that this is actually happening, much like what I've spent the last few hours doing.

"How did you find out about the crash anyway?" Spencer asked, looking down guiltily. "It's wasn't any of us, we don't have your number."

"Mona called me." Caleb answered looking over to Mona who was sat a few chairs away and giving her a small, tight smile.

I smiled too at that. It was Mona who found him and braved telling him that I was in the hospital even though her and Caleb don't get along.

"But we thought you were in California?" Emily looked confused.

"I was," Caleb replied slowly. "Mona found my Moms house number and called it to tell me what happened and then my Mom got me on the first flight back over here."

I cast my eyes downwards as I remember where Caleb should be right now; basking in the the Monecito sunshine, getting to know his Mother and bonding with his new family. The words Mom sounded so strange to come out of his mouth and I could tell by the way his eyes flickered when he said it that he felt it too.

I feel bad that I've taken away from his new family but the comfort of having him here with me takes over, even though he's sat across the hallway somehow I feel so much more safer knowing he's here for me.

He's being strong although I can tell on the inside he's hurting. Everyone else in the room, except for Mona of course, has mascara stains and bloodshot eyes from all the crying they've done and again I'm thankful that Caleb is holding it in.

The only time he's cried before were when he told me how he got the scar above his eyebrow and when he received the letter from his Mother only a few weeks ago. Both times I was there to comfort him but now I'm not.

But maybe now that Caleb's here and everyone I care about the most is together, I can finally wake up.

* * *

 _"Han, why is the new guy staring at you?" Aria Montgomery asked as she sat down at their table in the canteen. "And why are you not looking at him?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as Hanna stared down and stuffed a fork-full of lettuce into her mouth._

 _"He's not that new." Spencer added as she looked at Aria who rolled her eyes. "He's been here a month, it's not that new."_

 _"I saw you talking to him the other day." Emily spoke up looking over to Caleb who was sat with his laptop on his knee._

 _"I haven't talked to him all week." Hanna mumbled, still not looking up from her salad. It was the truth, ever since their kiss she had been doing everything she could to avoid him and so far it had worked._

 _"So you've talked to him before?" Spencer remarked, looking over at Caleb too._

 _"Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?" She snapped._

 _"He looks kind of sketchy," Emily muttered, still watching Caleb. "Why does he have so many phones?"_

 _"Because he upgrades them for cash." Hanna replied._

 _"Has he done your phone?" Aria asked._

 _"No."_

 _"Well then how do you know him?" Spencer asked. "The only people you speak to are us and Mona."_

 _"Because..." Hanna trailed off. She had already told Mona about him staying at her house and she trusted her friends not to tell anyone else. "Because he been crashing at my place."_

 _"What?!"_

 _"Why?!"_

 _"Because he had no where else to go. It's not every night, just some nights."_

 _"Are you sure you can trust him, Hanna? Like Em said, he's got a bad reputation." Spencer asked, exchanging looks with Aria and Emily who nodded with agreement._

 _"He's not that bad." She rolled her eyes at her friends before looking over at Caleb for the first time since they started talking about him. She watched his as his eyebrows furrowed at his laptop in concentration before he lifted his head and their eyes met, like he had sensed her watching him. He smirked and looked like he was about to stand up when Hanna's head shot back down to her salad._

 _"Whoah Han, that's some serious sexual tension." Aria teased, watching their interaction._

 _Hanna rolled her eyes yet again and glanced out of the corner of her eye to find the place where Caleb was sat empty._

 _"Has something happened between you whilst he was staying at your house?" Spencer asked suspiciously._

 _She sighed knowing they would be able to see straight through her. "We kissed."_

 _"You kissed him?!" All three girls gasped._

 _"What was it like?" Aria couldn't help but ask as she fought a smile._

 _"Honestly, it was the best kiss of my life." She admitted biting her lip. "I didn't want it to stop."_

 _"But it did, right?" Spencer asked warily._

 _"Yes!" Hanna hissed. "I wouldn't go that far with some guy I barley know."_

 _"He's been living in your house for three weeks." Emily retorted. "You know him quite well._

 _"Still, I wouldn't have given it up to him." She bit her lip again and glanced over to where he had been sat, waiting for the next round of questions from the girls, even tough she didn't have all the answers. She didn't know why she was so draw to him or why he gave her butterflies in her stomach. She didn't even know who kissed who at the lake, it was all a blur but as hard as she tried to forget about it she couldn't._

* * *

 _Hanna flopped back onto her bed later that evening with a huff. She ran her hand through her blonde hair as she tried to think of something that would get her mind off her kiss with Caleb._

 _It was silent as she let out another huff before the sound of her window opening made her sit up. She furrowed her eyebrows and stepped closer to her window as a hand slowly pushed it open._

 _She gasped and jumped back, looking for something to grab to defend herself with when another arm appeared and then a head. "What the hell are you doing Caleb?!" She whisper-screamed at him, hoping her parents wouldn't hear from downstairs._

 _"Coming in." He replied as he hauled himself through the open window and stood up, dusting off his hands._

 _"How did you even get up here?!" Hanna asked._

 _"I climbed," He shrugged simply._

 _"Ever heard of using a door?" She rolled her eyes and sat back on her bed. "Why are you here anyway?"_

 _"If I'd have used the door you wouldn't have let me in." He closed the window behind himself. "And you have my jacket, I want it back."_

 _"You didn't have to climb through my window to get it, you could've just asked me at school." She shrugged, suddenly becoming conscious that once again she was in her pyjamas in front of him._

 _"When?" He raised his eyebrows. "You've been ignoring me all week."_

 _"I've been busy." She replied defensively as she opened her closet and pulled out his green jacket. Then she made her way to the window and opened it again. "Did you want something else?"_

 _Caleb took his jacket from her and smirked. "Actually I wanted to talk about something." He stepped closer to her so their faces were centimetres apart and she could feel his breath against her lips._

 _"What?" She asked shakily, before clearing her throat. Why was being so close him having such an effect on her?_

 _"Our kiss." His bit down on his lip and watched her blush and look down in embarrassment._

 _"I don't know what your talking about." She tried to act normal but her voice was a total give away._

 _"I think you do." His voice was low and husky and he was looking her dead in the eyes._

 _Her breath caught in her throat as she forced her gaze away from him and turned to look out of the window. Her heart and her head were telling her complete opposites. Her heart was telling her to forget everything and kiss him again but her head was telling her that they were complete opposites and would never work together._

 _He was the grungy, street smart, bad boy who already knew who he was and didn't care what other people thought about him. Whereas she liked clothes and fashion and talking to her friends and when she thought about it she didn't really know where she fit in or what she wanted out of life. She was just Hanna Marin; the girl who wore expensive shoes and always had her hair curled to perfection._

 _"Fine." Caleb mumbled pulling her from her thoughts and stepping towards the window. "If you want to pretend like nothing happened then be my guest." He had stood there and watched her stare out the window for the past few minutes taking that as a hint to leave._

 _"Kiss me again." Hanna stopped him in his tracks with her words, just as surprised at him about what came out of her mouth. Why did her brain always shut down when she was around him?_

 _Caleb turned back to look at her as he fought a smile. "What?"_

 _"I want you to kiss me again." She said more confidently, swallowing the lump in her throat as all of a sudden she didn't care either. Other people's opinions didn't matter because she felt so alive when he kissed her, more than she ever had before and she wanted to feel like that again._

 _It took a matter of seconds for Caleb to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her body closer to his. Her hand weaved through the back of his hair as she looked up at him again before closing her eyes and joining their lips._

 _His tongue didn't hesitate to push into her mouth and she felt sparks fly all over again, just like they had at the lake last week. Her hand pulled his hair tighter and she felt his hand roaming her back._

 _It felt like her lips are on fire as he carried on kissing her until his lips stopped moving against hers and he pulled back. His nose nudged against hers as he looked into her eyes and all she could do was smile. A genuine, happy grin that only stopped when she pushed her lips back against his._

* * *

 **I hope you liked this chapter and are glad Caleb's finally here. Let me know if you'd like a preview xxxx**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The night went by slowly as I watched the ward I was on come to an almost standstill as patients slept and the nurses rested.

I sat on my window sill and watched as the Aria, Emily, Spencer and Mona all dipped between sleep and staring at the blank walls of the hospital.

The only person who didn't sleep, didn't even shut his eyes for more than a second to blink, was Caleb. His eyes stayed open and locked on the door of my room where he could just about see the faint rising of my chest as I breathed, aided by all the tubes and machines my body was hooked up to.

His eyes wore heavy bags and he was slumped in his chair when morning came and my Grandma was back first thing with a bag full of pre-made sandwiches and some comfy pyjamas for me and my Mom which she had given to the nurses.

There was a small smile on her face as she entered the waiting area although she too had tired bags under her eyes and I guessed she hadn't slept much either. Her eyes lingered on Caleb and I could tell she was trying to figure out who he was.

She caught his eye and he stood up, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You must be the boyfriend?" My Grandma offered him a warm smile which he returned.

"Yeah, I'm Caleb." He cleared his throat nervously as my Grandma looked him up and down before she decided she liked him and gave him another smile. "I'm really sorry about Mr Marin," Caleb started and the smile on my Grandmas face turned into a pain stricken grimace.

"Please," She held her hand out and closed her eyes tightly. "Can we concentrate on Hanna and her Mother getting better before we start to mourn for my son, it's what he would've wanted."

With a short nod Caleb gave her an apprehensive smile and looked down at the two bags in her hand. "Do you need any help?"

"I'm okay, dear." She set one of the bags down on a seat and pulled out a ball of wool and two knitting needles. "I brought my knitting to pass the time, do you want a go?"

I held back a laugh as Caleb shook his head and politely declined. The image of him sat next to my Grandma whilst she taught him all her knitting knowledge tickled my insides and I grinned as she held out the needles again and Caleb sat back in his chair.

A few hours passed of waiting around and before Andrea made an appearance again, looking like she'd gotten as much sleep as everyone else last night. She smiled over as she talked to a nurse before a frown was permanently etched onto her face and she headed over to the waiting area.

My eyes scanned her whole body as I tried to figure out why she was frowning and hoped that she wouldn't be bringing anymore more bad news. My eyes wondered down to the pale blue, silky pyjamas in her hand that I recognised are my mothers.

A gasp left my throat as I pressed my head against the door so I could hear what was going on although I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach that something wasn't right and it was increasing every second.

It felt like a deep pit as the faint pain in my chest doubled and tears clouded my vision. I looked over at Grandma who was sat with a small smile, waiting for Andrea to speak and I let out a sob, knowing what was coming.

"I'm so sorry," She began as she placed the soft pyjamas on my Grandmas lap.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at the social worker who had captivated everyone's attention. Silent tears streamed down her wrinkly cheeks as she shook her head in disbelief. "Not her too?"

Andrea nodded and gripped my Grandmas hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "She passed away in the early hours of the morning."

"How?" Grandma managed to get out as her lips quivered.

"Her heart was under too much strain from the accident. The doctors did everything they could but I'm sorry, it just wasn't enough."

Through my tears I could see that Spencer, Emily, Aria and even Mona were crying too. Caleb's head hung low, his hair covering his face until he looked up and glanced in my direction. "What about Hanna?"

The nurse offered everyone a comforting smile. "She's doing well. Her lungs are strong enough for her to breathe on her own so the nurses will be taking her off the ventilator soon. We just have to wait for her to wake up now."

But what if I don't want to wake up? What if I don't what to wake up without my parents?

I wonder if they got a choice like I did. I wonder if they chose to give up on life and leave me here, all on my own.

Ever since the accident I feel like I've been continually stabbed straight through the heart. First seeing my body lying on the road as the paramedics worked on me. Then as Andrea announced the news of my fathers death and now as she told me my mom is dead too.

Two nurses and a doctor enter my room and I take it as an opportunity to leave the small confinement of it and try to escape.

I'm tempted to head over to Grandma, Caleb and the girls but seeing the look of pain in their faces and the loud sobs that escape my Grandma drive me away. Instead I let my legs lead me down the hallway, not really knowing where I'm going but hoping that I can escape all the grief and sadness for just a few minutes.

But it's impossible.

I come to a dead end corridor and lean my forehead against the wall as hot tears once again rush down my cheeks and my hands grip my hair tightly.

Sobs wrack through my chest as I take a deep breath and carry on crying. Crying for my parents death, for never getting to see them again and for them leaving me here all alone.

All I want is one last hug from them, one last comforting smile as they tell me everything will be okay but I can't have that because they gone.

They're both gone.

* * *

I don't know how long I was stood there, crying my eyes out but eventually my chest heaves as I catch my breath and come crashing back down to reality. If my parent really are dead then I need to step up and take care of myself, which means staying as close to my body as possible. If there's any more news about my condition then I need to know and hear if first hand from the doctors.

If I want to be able to wake up from this hell then I need to keep calm and focused.

I start back in the direction I came and it doesn't take long for me to spot that Emily and Spencer's Moms have arrived, both of them looking shocked and teary. They hold their daughters close in hugs which only makes the empty feeling inside of me increase.

I watch Caleb as he stares at his feet, occasionally glancing over to my room and when he does I see how much my Mothers death has affected him.

His eyes are heavy and his lips form a straight line as his Adams Apple bobs when he swallows. I like to think that he had a good relationship with my parents, even if it started out rough.

I don't know why but it seemed that my Mom always had a soft spot for Caleb and although she put up a hard front around him she really did care for him like a son. My father on the other hand took a lot of convincing before he was won over by Caleb's cocky smirk. It was his over-protectiveness I think that eventually brought my Dad around and how Caleb was constantly showing that he really did love me.

So knowing that Caleb was feeling the pain of their deaths too brought some comfort too me although not enough to fill the emptiness inside.

Ella looked down at him with sympathy written all over her face as she pulled on her coat. "Go home honey and get some food and rest." She told him as the others prepared to do the same.

Caleb's gaze shifted back to his feet as he mumbled something under his breath that I could only just make out. "Hanna is my home."

Tears flooded my eyes once again at his words. After he left to see his birth mother in California I doubt that his foster mom would let him back inside never mind make him a decent dinner and offer him a bed for the night. I really was the only person he had left here in Rosewood.

I looked between the girls and hoped that one of them had heard him and would remember everything I had told them about his foster mom. It wasn't much because Caleb hated people knowing what he had to go through but I had told them enough for them understand the truth of the four words he had spoken.

They all remained staring at him before Aria's hazel eyes flickered and she looked up at her mother. "He can come to ours right?" She asked. "You said Dad and Mike were making lunch so I'm sure there will be enough."

Ella's eyes furrowed slightly before she glanced down at Caleb again and her frown faded into a smile. "Of course you can." She gave his shoulder a small squeeze and picked up her bag. "Do you need to pick anything up on the way over?"

He shook his head simply before standing up and tucking his hands in the pocket of his jeans. "Thank you."

"Your welcome Caleb," She shot him another warm smile. "And Aria's right if my son and husband are cooking then they'll ever be more than enough food to go around." She tried to lighten the mood with a small chuckle as they started walking out of the waiting area.

When he passed my room his eyes once again locked onto my limp body. Pain shot through his face as he swallowed a lump in his throat and tore his eyes away from me, hanging his head low as he followed Aria and her mother out of the hospital.

I wish I could do the same and just walk out of the hospital like the last two days never happened. Go back to my home and my parents and my room filled with my favourite clothes and pictures and memories.

I slip back into my hospital room as one of the nurses leaves, wheeling a cart full of equipment out that I guess is the ventilator. Inside the nurse that was in my room yesterday with the deep voice, stands above me, stroking my hair again.

She mumbles something under her breath as she looks down at me with sad eyes and the only word I can make out is "orphan."

I'm an orphan.

Never in my hole life had I expected be called that by anyone. I always thought my parents would be with me until I was a lot older and had a family of my own and then they would die peacefully, of natural causes not from a horrific car crash.

Silent tears once again trickled down my face as I stumble over to the my windowsill like I've done multiple times before but this time it feels different.

Now I know that I'm completely alone.

* * *

 _"That was good Ash," Tom smiled as she set his knife and fork down on his empty plate. He looked over at his wife and daughter who agreed._

 _It was rare that they all sat down for dinner together and Hanna could tell that her mom had gone to lots of effort with her pasta bake. "You should make it more often Mom." Hanna nodded with a smile._

 _Their conversation was interrupted when the sound of the front door opening filled the house._

 _"Hanna, why the hell has Bridget Wu just told me she saw you exchanging spit with Caleb Rivers today?" Mona's voice came unannounced from the front door. "I know you've been sneaking him into your house but you told me nothing was- Oh... Hey Mrs M, Mr M..." Mona stood in front of them all like a dear caught in headlights._

 _"What are you doing here?" Hanna hissed as she prayed her parent hadn't heard what Mona said._

 _"I thought you'd be home alone, you normally are on Wednesdays." Mona shrugged._

 _"What did you say about Caleb Rivers?" Tom asked angrily as Hanna squeezed her eyes shut. She had been keeping their relationship a secret from everyone for two weeks now and along comes Mona to ruin it._

 _She sighed and looked at her parents before rolling her eyes, knowing they'd be able to tell if she lied. "He's my boyfriend."_

 _"What?!" Her fathers face turned red._

 _"Why didn't I know this?" Mona mumbled and Hanna turned around to glare at her._

 _"What's your problem with him?" Hanna asked although she knew the answer._

 _"Hanna, he tried to steal my car, he's trouble." Tom replied. "I don't want you to have anything to do with him."_

 _"You don't even know him!" Hanna raised her voice._

 _"Hanna," Ashley interrupted. "Why don't you see Mona out and then we can talk properly."_

 _Hanna rolled her eyes and stood up following Mona to the door. "I'm sorry Han but you should have just told me." Mona said._

 _Hanna didn't say anything although she knew she was right. Mona was bound to find out, especially when her and Caleb hadn't exactly been secretive at school._

 _"Don't blame me Han, blame Bridget Wu and her drunk ass mouth." Mona rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow."_

 _Hanna closed the door behind her and made her way back into the kitchen, mentally preparing herself for the huge argument that was about to happen._

 _"We need to have a serious talk." Her fathers stern voice filled her ears the second she was stood back in the kitchen. "Your not seeing this Caleb boy anymore."_

 _"You can't control me." Hanna raised her voice as she stood in front of her parents._

 _"Hanna, your dads right." Her mothers voice interrupted the intense glare between father and daughter. "We don't want you associating with him. Who knows what kind of trouble you could get in to?"_

 _"How can you say that?" Hanna spat as she folded her arms across her chest defensively. "You don't even know Caleb."_

 _"I caught him stealing my car, that's all we need to know." Tom shot back._

 _"We just don't want you to get hurt honey." Ashley tried a softer tone as she took in how much Hanna was sticking up for this guy._

 _"He even wasn't going to steal your car." Hanna told her parents, looking them both straight in the eyes. "He was just going to sleep in it."_

 _"What?" Ashley and Tom both looked confused and they exchanged glances._

 _"See," Hanna rolled her eyes. "You know nothing."_

 _"Would you care to explain then?" Tom challenged._

 _"He's in foster care and he has been since he was five." She watched as her Mothers facial expression softened a little but her fathers still remained firm. "He lives with a foster mom but she pays him to stay away from the house some nights so he doesn't have anywhere to sleep." She explained. "That's why he was seeing if your car was unlocked, he was going to sleep in it- not steal it."_

 _Tom cast his eyes downwards as he processed the information from Hanna whereas Ashley stepped forward slightly. "Can't he get moved into a better foster home?" She asked._

 _Hanna shook her head. "Some of the things he's told me.." She trailed off. "It's honestly not that bad compared to other houses he's stayed in."_

 _"And you've been letting him sleep in our house?" Tom asked with a deep frown on his face. "Hanna how can you be so stupid, he could've hurt you."_

 _"He would never hurt me." Hanna shook her head determined to show her parents how much she cared about Caleb. Angry tears we're building up in her eyes as she thought about how misunderstood Caleb was._

 _"Tom stop," Ashley interjected, stepping forward to place a hand on her daughters shoulder, noticing how upset she was becoming. "It wasn't stupid, it was caring and you were doing a good thing honey."_

 _Hanna have her Mom a small smile in return before she turned to her Father who had his hands on his hips as he assessed the situation. "I'm sorry," He sighed, stepping closer too. "I just don't want you to get hurt. Your out only child Hanna and your so precious to us that I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."_

 _"I know," She shot her dad a smile too. "But Caleb isn't like that. He's a good person who's just had a really bad life so far, he would never do anything to hurt me."_

 _"We trust your opinion on him." Ashley shared a look with her husband who nodded his head in agreement before she looked back at Hanna. "I can tell you really care about him a lot from the way your eyes lit up when you were talking about him, maybe you even love him?"_

 _Hanna shrugged in response and bit her lip. She and Caleb hadn't got to the L word in their relationship yet but as she thought about it more she realised how close it was to slipping out when she was defending him to her parents._

 _Her lips slowly formed into a smile as she realised how deep her feelings for him were. She had never felt like this about anyone before and she just hoped he felt the same way._

* * *

 **Another emotional chapter and thank you all for your reviews last chapter, let me know if you want a preview. Xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 _"Caleb?!" Hanna rolled her eyes and she pushed the window open wider and helped him climb through it. "What are you doing here? My parents might see you."_

 _"I thought they liked me now." He smirked as he hauled himself into her room from the tree branch he was stood on. "And you told me they're out."_

 _"They're going out for a meal." She rolled her eyes as he got to his feet and inched towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And just because they sort-of-like you doesn't mean they'll like you in my room at night?"_

 _"I can't think why they won't want me in here," He smirked and pushed his lips against hers._

 _Her hand ran through his hair as she tugged it and grinned into the kiss. "Me either." She shrugged pulling away from him and sitting back on her bed, picking up the magazine she had been reading._

 _He flopped on to the bed next to her and lent his head on his hand. "So your home alone tonight?"_

 _"Yep." She answered, not looking up from her magazine, knowing what he was suggesting._

 _He smirked again and bit his lip as she made eye contact and he lost himself in her ocean coloured eyes for a few seconds. "Maybe-" He was cut off by a voice coming from downstairs._

 _"Hanna, were setting off now," Her Mother called._

 _She quickly scrambled up from the bed and ran to the door, popping her head around so her Mom wouldn't come inside. "Okay, have fun." She smiled but then frowned. "But not too much fun, I'm happy being an only child."_

 _"Hanna!" Ashley scolded, her eyes widening. "We're only going out for a meal."_

 _"Which we're going to be late for," Tom added with a small grin. "Bye Han."_

 _"Bye," She called back, waiting for the sound of the front door closing before she went back to Caleb. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him lying on his back with his eyes closed looking peaceful and innocent for once but as soon as he felt her staring at him he opened his eyes. "Oh my god!" She gasped, a frown on her face as she rushed forward. "Your bleeding."_

 _"Where?" He asked scanning his body for blood._

 _"Here," She grabbed a tissue from Her bedside table and sat in the edge of the bed. "Your cheek." He watched as she concentrated on the cut on his jaw and gently pressed the tissue to it. "How did you do it?"_

 _"It must of been when I was climbing the tree." He shrugged and Hanna rolled her eyes._

 _"If you'd have waited like five minutes you could of come through the door."_

 _"Where's the fun in that?" He grinned and she rolled her eyes again. It sounded so cliché that he had to climb a tree to sneak into her room right under her parents noses. "Admit it," Caleb added. "You find it hot that I climb through your window and risk a serious injury just so I can see you."_

 _"I hardly count this as a serious injury," Hanna laughed and stroked her thumb over his cheek, still holding the tissue to the bleeding cut. "But it is kinda hot."_

 _Caleb grinned back as her gentle touch soothed the stinging of his cut. She wiped away the last of the blood and moved to lie down next to him as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer just enjoying being with her._

 _"How was your foster mom today?" Hanna asked softly, stroking her hand over his chest._

 _"Same as always," He shrugged, kissing the top of her head. "She's still paying me so it's fine." He sighed slightly and Hanna knew it wasn't fine._

 _"Caleb you shouldn't have to put up with that," She told him, moving to sit up slightly. "Can't you speak to someone and ask to be moved."_

 _He sighed again and lowered his gaze. "Trust me Han, I've been in worse and if I did ask to be moved it could be miles away to another state, so right now I'm good here with you."_

 _She let out a small smile at his words however much what he had to go through upset her. "Okay." She mumbled, leaning down to kiss his lips. He kissed back as his hand ran down her back and pulled her body over his._

 _Her hands tangled in his hair again as she moaned into their deepening kiss as he groped her ass. Her body reacted to his touch and she started to grind down against him, already feeling a bulge poking her lower stomach._

 _Caleb got the message and started to let his hands roam under her top, gliding over her soft skin as she tugged on his hair. Then she let go and sat up slightly, moving her grip to his t-shirt as she pulled it over his head to reveal his tanned, toned abs._

 _He sat up too and cleared his throat, looking her straight in the eye. "Are you sure?" He asked, gripping her cheek and making her look at him. Their make out sessions had never gone this far before but it was only a matter of time and she knew she wanted him to be her first. "Han?" His voice was hoarse and rough and only made her want him more._

 _She nodded and slowly lifted her own top over her head, leaving her in her lace bra. She blushed slightly as his eyes wondered down her chest and suddenly became self-conscious about her body._

 _"Your beautiful," He whispered against her lips as he joined them together again in long drawn out kisses. His hands took a hold of her hips and he pulled her down on to the bed and rolled on top, not breaking their kiss once._

 _Her fingers fumbled with his belt and Caleb took a hold of her hands, sensing her nerves. "Are you sure?" He repeated. If she wasn't ready then he would wait, he cared about her too much not to._

 _"I want this," She told him. "I just- I haven't done it before." She stuttered as her cheeks turned pink and she looked down, knowing he was more experienced._

 _"That's okay," Caleb pressed a kiss to her lips, reassuringly. "I'll go slow and tell me if you want to stop."_

 _She nodded and gave him a small smile before she lost herself in his dark, lustful eyes. The way he looked at her with complete admiration have her goosebumps and made her smile even wider. He grinned too before his hand brushed over her cheek and he dropped his lips back down to hers as they connected in the most intimate way possible._

* * *

I think that for the first time since the car accident two days ago, I fully understand the choice I've been given; that if its what I want, I can choose to let go.

Before now, I had just presumed that I would be woken up by the doctors or I'd just open my eyes one day and be back inside my body but seeing my parents let go made me realise that I don't have to wake up if it's not what I want and that I can die too.

A couple of months ago- even a few days ago, I would never had imagined that had I been given the choice I would have chosen to die but then again I never expected to have to choose in the first place.

I also realise that I have to be completely sure about what I choose before it happens and so far I'm undecided. There's advantages and disadvantages to both choices and I just have to use my time stuck in this tiny hospital room to figure out what I want.

A heavy sigh leaves my lips as I glance up from outside the window and crane my head so I can see the waiting room.

It's dark outside again, and everyone who left around lunch time to get food and rest has returned. My eyes wonder over to Caleb and I frown at how tired he looks. After he left with Aria and her mother earlier he came back to the hospital only an hour later, on his own so I presume that he didn't sleep. Actually, I don't think I've seen him sleep since he arrived at the hospital, even at night he sits there and stares at the door to my room as if he thinks that if he rests his eyes for a few minutes he'll miss something important, and tonight it's the same.

He's sat back in the chair, glancing around the ward with his hands fiddling with his each other before something interrupts his deep thought and his head snaps up, like he's remembered something. His eyebrows furrow before he reaches into his pocket and casts his eyes downwards.

I watch as his lips form a tight line and he swallows twice, unable to get rid of the lump on his throat. His eyes dart over to my room before he stands up abruptly and heads down a corridor and out of sight.

My hand grips the door in front of me that I hadn't realised I moved to as I try desperately to get out and see where Caleb's going. I look up at the clock on the wall and see that the nurses should be doing their rounds any minute, giving me a chance to slip out of the room.

I look back at the waiting area to see if anyone had noticed Caleb leave and they all are sleeping, except for Mona who's tapping away on her phone, completely oblivious to what's going on around her. The nurse eventually turns up three minutes late and I head the way Caleb went as quick as possible.

He's there sat on the floor of the deserted corridor and slumped against a wall as he stares out through the window opposite at the dark night.

I step closer, wondering if he'll be able to feel my presence in any way but he doesn't move so I guess he can't. Carefully I step over his outstretched legs and slide down the wall next to him.

His hand is still buried in the pockets of his green jacket as he gulps and looks down. I place my hand on top of his hand and look up, straight into his dark orbs waiting for a reaction. I feel my heart sting a little when I don't get one but that's all forgotten when I droplet of water splashed down to the floor next to me.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion before it hits me and I look up at Caleb again to see a single tear streak down his left cheek.

For the last two days he's been holding in every feeling and emotion he's felt and I've watched him swallow all of them. But now I know it's too much for him to keep inside. I let out a shaky sigh myself and shuffle closer to him, leaning my head on his strong shoulder.

Until now I hadn't realised how much I missed human contact. The feeling of Caleb's warm body beneath my cheek brings a tiny smile to my face. Maybe if the doctors would let people into my room to see me then it would be what I need to pull through and decide to stay. Maybe if they just abandon all their stupid rules they might actually get what they want.

My body moves with his as he takes a deep breath and although he's getting no comfort from my head on his shoulder, I am, and the emptiness in my stomach seems to shrink.

His hand ruffles through his pocket again before he pulls out a small black box. He opens it and inside is a silver, heart-shaped necklace. I lift my head from his shoulder so I could read the tiny cursive writing that's engraved on to it.

Soulmates

A smile lights up my face at the memory that comes flooding back of us lying in our special place, staring up to the sky and talking about how we found our soulmates.

I look up and expect Caleb to be matching my grin but instead his eyes cloud with tears. He blinks and they trickle from the corner of his eyes, down his face and drop to his hands below. He doesn't bother wiping them though as he snaps the box shut and another round of tears escape his chocolate eyes.

"No," I soothe placing my head back on his shoulder and my hand around his. "No, please don't cry," I beg. "It kills me when you cry." But of course he doesn't hear me.

He thinks he's all alone and I hate that he doesn't know I'm here for him. "I'm always here for you," I whisper, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his cheeks as his tears continue fall to the cold floor.

His loud sniffles fill the room and all I want is for him to know that I'm okay and that I'm watching the way he cares for me and that if the situation was reversed, I'd be doing exactly the same.

My heart breaks once again at the sound of his tears and I think back to the choice I have to make. If I do choose to die, what effect will it have on Caleb and Grandma and my friends?

I hadn't thought about them earlier and now I realise how hard it would be to say goodbye and leave them forever. It would be selfish of me to not consider everyone I love when I make my decision but part of me thinks that it would also be selfish to wake up.

No one knows what state I'm going to be in if I wake up. I could be paralysed or have a serious brain injury and loose my memory and it would be selfish of me to stay and leave my friends and what's left of my family to look after me.

My Grandma's already old and she won't be able to lift me if I loose the use of my legs. The girls will all be going off to collage soon and I wouldn't want to hold them back and make them feel like they have to stay and help me. The same goes for Caleb. If I do wake up I know he won't leave my side but he's young and it would be his life wasted looking after me when he could be exploring the world and experiencing everything it has to offer.

Just because we're soulmates doesn't mean that we'll stay together forever.

He wouldn't want me if I was in a wheelchair or had no memory of him but I know he'd stay because that's the kind of caring person he is and I don't want that for him. I want him to be happy in life, especially after the horrible childhood he's had and if loosing me means he can have that happiness then I wont stand in his way.

The sound of heals clicking along the floor grabs my attention and I lift my head from his shoulder to glance down the corridor and see Mona walking up it, her eyes locked in Caleb.

He quickly wipes his cheeks dry with his rough hands and lowers his gaze back to the floor. Mona doesn't say anything as she looks at the dirty floor in disgust before rolling her eyes and sitting down next to Caleb.

Neither of them speak for a few minutes and they sit side by side, both with huge bags under their eyes from lack of sleep. Finally, Mona tares her eyes away from the window in front of her and looks at Caleb. "She'll be okay." Her voice is quiet and weak and it's not what I expected.

Caleb shakes his head, still staring at the ground. "You don't know that."

Mona doesn't reply for a few seconds and I look up to see defeated expression on her face. "I know." She doesn't even bother to argue- which is unlike her and settles her gaze on the floor as tears glisten in her eyes too.

Now they're both staring at the floor on the verge of tears, all for me. Neither one of the knows what to say to the other and I wish so badly that they could here me when I tell them that it's okay to cry.

They shouldn't have to be the strong ones all the time.

I've seen how much strength the other three girls have drawn from Caleb and Mona over the past few days. Whenever they would get upset I would see Spencer looking in Mona's direction and she would take a deep breath to compose herself. And the same goes for Emily and Aria when they looked at Caleb.

But now it's just the two of them I hope they know that they don't have to keep the wall if emotions up; they can let it crumble, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Caleb clears his throat awkwardly, but before he can say anything a sniffle echoes down the corridor that isn't his. He looks confused for a few seconds before he looks up at Mona and the frown on his face softens, much like I had done a few minutes ago with him. Her dark hair covers her face as she lets out a quiet whimper and begins to cry.

Caleb doesn't know how to react for a few seconds and I can tell that he's shocked Mona would cry in front of him- I'm a little shocked too, but his caring nature takes over and he shuffles a little closer before nudging her side gently. "She'll be okay." He repeats her words from earlier and Mona raises her eyebrows at him through her tears. "She's Hanna," Caleb replies then more confidently, although I know he's not sure that his words will come true. "She's already been through so much so she'll be able to get through this too."

She looks up at him and they share a smile before she nods and wipes away her tears. "She will." She says although I can tell she senses the doubt in his voice too.

They slip back into silence as I glance between them from where I'm sat on the other side of Caleb and take in how similar they both are. They're both witty and sarcastic and very smart, although Mona plays dumb a lot of the time. They've both also been through a lot in their lives, constantly being put down and mistreated by other people. Yet, after everything they've both been through they haven't let it effect who they are and I wish I was more like them. They don't hide away from what they are and their past but they don't linger on it either.

On paper they should have got on like a house on fire considering how alike they are and although they declare their hatred for each other often, somehow I don't believe them.

My accident seems to have brought them together, and they seem to have formed an unspoken friendship from being my boyfriend and my best-friend. I hope that whatever the outcome and whatever I choose my fate to be that they'll have each other's backs and be the friend they're going to need if I don't wake up.

"I should day thanks," Caleb spoke up again. "If you hadn't called me then I wouldn't know about Han being here."

"I knew she'd want you here so I just tracked down your Mom on Facebook and found her phone number." She replies with a small nod. "I guess I was wrong about you."

"What do you mean?" Caleb's asks, furrowing his eyebrows, although there's a slightly amused look in his face.

"I thought you was only interested in her so you could get into her panties but I was wrong." She confessed as she looks up at him, capturing both our attention as I lean closer to hear what Mona has to say. She's never told me any of this before. "I thought you were going to come in, sweep her off her feet and swipe out her v-card then leave her by the side of a road somewhere with a broken heart."

A soft chuckle left Caleb's lips and he looks down and shakes his head. "I'd never do that."

"Yeah, I know that now." She rolls her eyes at him with a small smile. "But you still have some explaining to do when she wakes up."

"About what?" Caleb asks, confused.

"The last three weeks you've been gone she said you were ignoring her calls and texts." Mona explains. "She thought you'd abandoned her and moved on with some hot Cali chick."

Caleb shakes his head and furrows his eyebrows again at the thought of me being mad at him. Honestly I had forgotten all about that until now and so had he. "I wasn't ignoring her," He shakes his head. "I lost my phone at the airport when I landed." He explains. "Trust me the last thing I wanted was to ignore her, I needed her more than ever that day."

"Did you not have a spare or back up the numbers?" Mona asks. "Seriously, your known at school as 'the sketchy phone dude' and yet you can't even look after your own phone."

"I left my laptop here when I went to my Moms." He sighs, irritably. "And I had a lot on my mind that day."

She nods and looks down to her lap. "Sorry." She flashed him a tiny smile in apology. "Your mom seems nice," She adds and I can tell she's trying to lighten the mood, although I'm not sure this is the right topic of conversation for that. "I saw her Facebook photos, her house is huge and she had a really nice pair of Maddens on."

"Yeah," Caleb nods stiffly. "She's loaded." He sighs and his eyes flash as something come into his head before he lowers his gaze. "I can't believe Hanna's parents are dead."

My whole body tenses at his words and I shut my eyes tightly, knowing that if I start crying again, I won't be able to stop.

"I know," Mona sighs too. "It's seems so unreal that a few days ago they were a normal family and now it's just Han."

Before they can say anything else I stand up from where I was sat at Caleb's side and quickly make my way back down the corridor, not being able to stand to hear their conversation anymore. I've done so much crying in the last few days that I don't think I have enough liquid in my body to cry. So I return to my room and my window as I lull over the situation and whether I'm going to stay.

* * *

 **Let me know if you'd like a preview and if there's anything you would like to see in a flashback then let me know too.**

 **I hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy new year xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _"You look beautiful." Ashley Marin grinned as she zipped up the back of her daughters midnight-coloured dress._

 _"Thanks Mom," Hanna smiled, fixing a blonde curl in place before she stepped into her heals. "Can you pass me my purse?"_

 _Ashley nodded and handed over the silver clutch. "Your growing up so fast," She sighed. "Next thing we know it'll be prom and graduation."_

 _Hanna rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "I'm just going to a dance Mom, stop getting all emotional."_

 _"I know, I know." Ashley smiled only to be interrupted by the doorbell ringing. "That'll be Caleb," She said, turning to the door of the bedroom. "I better not leave him alone with your father for too long."_

 _Hanna turned back to the mirror as she smoothed down her dress and wondered what Caleb was wearing. She hoped he had taken her advice and rented a tux rather than going for his own suggestion of jeans. She wasn't dancing with him if he was in anything short of a shirt and tie._

 _She could here voices from down stairs and took one last glance in the mirror before descending the stairs._

 _Her eyes locked onto Caleb's as he came into view and a huge grin lit up his face as he took in her outfit. Hanna's face beamed too when she noticed the black suit he had on and couldn't help but laugh a little as she saw how loose his tie was. She stepped closer to him and looked up into his dark eyes with so much love and excitement for tonight._

 _"You look gorgeous Hanna." Her Dad interrupted her and Caleb's moment from where he was stood a few feet away next to Ashley._

 _She shot them a smile before moving to Caleb and reaching forward to fix his tie. "I'm impressed," She laughed. "I was scared you would actually pick me up in your tatty jeans."_

 _"I had some help." He shrugged as she finished with his tie and placed her hand on his chest. He lost himself in her baby blue eyes and her dimpled smile as his lips tingled with the urge to touch hers._

 _His eyes locked on hers again and she could tell he was dying to kiss her. He edged closer and lowered his gaze to her lips, momentarily forgetting where they were before a loud cough broke them apart._

 _"You should get going if you don't want to be late." Tom spoke breaking his daughter from her boyfriends longing stares. "I want her back by midnight." He said then turning to Caleb._

 _He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'll have her back in time."_

 _"So how are you getting to the dance?" Ashley asked as she pulled her phone out from her bag._

 _"I thought we could walk." Caleb slowly replied. "I don't have a car so..." He trailed off at the end as Hanna looked down at her five inch heals and frowned at the thought of walking all the way to school in them. She looked back up at Caleb and instantly wiped the frown off her face as he cleared his throat in the silence and scratched the back of his head; a habit she knew he did when he was nervous._

 _Tom Marin also glanced at his daughters shoes before looking up at her boyfriend. He stared at Caleb long and hard for a few seconds before he gave in and reached for his car keys on the side table. "Here," He handed them over to the younger man. "You can take my car."_

 _He didn't miss the look of shock and surprise on Caleb's face as he stared down at the keys in his hand. "Are you sure?"_

 _"There's no way Hanna's walking that far in them shoes." Tom rolled his eyes slightly and them surprised everyone again as he let out a small smile._

 _"Thank you." Caleb gave him a great-full smile back and tucked the keys into his pocket. He was shocked at how only a few months ago the same man was dragging him though the door by his jacket and accusing him of attempting to steal the very same car he was lending to him now._

 _"Come closer together, I want a photo." Ashley instructed as she unlocked her phone._

 _Caleb's arms snaked around Hanna's waist as she stepped into his side and placed a hand on his chest ready for the picture. "I hate having my picture taken." Caleb mumbled under his breath as they remained still whilst Ashley snapped what felt like thousands of photos of them._

 _"I know you do." Hanna chuckled as she tore her eyes from the phone and grinned up at him. "But I'm not wasting the opportunity of having proof that you wore a tux for me."_

 _"Don't get used to it." He smirked, his hand slipping down to grab her ass as they stood right infront of her parents._

 _Hanna pursed her lips at the contact and kicked the back of his leg as her mom decided she had enough photos and set her phone down. "We should probably set off now." Hanna said as her hand slipped down to intertwine with Caleb's._

 _"Okay sweetie," Ashley grinned stepping forward and brushing a piece of Hanna's blonde hair out of her face before she moved to Caleb and smoothed down his jacket. She gave him a warm, motherly smile, that he returned before she glanced down at their joined hands. "Have a great time you two."_

 _"We will." Hanna smiled as she stepped closer to the door._

 _"Caleb," Tom called as he wrapped an arm around Ashley. "Look after her."_

 _"I will." Hanna watched as her boyfriend and her dad shared respecting smiles before everyone said their last goodbye and Hanna tugged Caleb out the front door._

 _"Finally," Caleb muttered as he closed the front door behind himself and took two steps, closing the distance between him and Hanna. He didn't waste any time and pushed his lips against hers as his arms wrapped around her waist and slipped down to grope her butt again._

 _Her hands ran through his hair and grabbed the tendrils at the back of his neck as she pushed her tongue between his lips. He bit down and soothed the sting with his own tongue before she pulled away. "We should go now." Hanna sighed happily as Caleb nudged his nose against her cheek._

 _He nodded his head in agreement and let go of her waist to take her hand as they headed down the path to Toms car. He unlocked it and they both climbed inside._

 _"Wait," Hanna looked at Caleb as he slipped the keys into the ignition. "You don't have a license."_

 _"Nope." He smirked, popping the P. "I don't."_

 _"Can you even drive Caleb?" Hanna asked warily, she'd rather walk all the way in her heals than be in a car crash because her boyfriend couldn't actually drive._

 _"Yes." He replied, slightly offended that she though he couldn't. "I'm a good driver."_

 _She raised her eyebrows, unconvinced before he started the car and reversed it off the drive in one swift movement that sent them both crashing back into their seats and Hanna hurriedly reaching for her seat belt. Then he turned to Hanna and shot her his signature smirk before he was speeding down the street to the school._

* * *

 _The soft beat of the music could be heard as Caleb wrapped his arms around Hanna's waist and they entered the dance. The school hall way unrecognisable in the dim shine of the fairy lights and disco ball and tacky decorations._

 _"There's Aria and Em." Hanna said, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to where they were stood, near the bowl of punch._

 _"Wow Han, you look amazing." Aria complimented her as they approached. "And you got him in a suit." She raised her eyebrows at Caleb who just rolled his eyes._

 _"I know, he picked it out himself." She told them with a small laugh as she saw Mona approaching in the corner of her eye._

 _"Love the shoes Han." She grinned giving Hanna a small hug as they took in each other's outfits. Her eyes moved to Caleb and she smiled proudly. "Glad you took my advice."_

 _Hanna furrowed her eyes in confusion as she looked between them. "What advice?"_

 _"I was walking past the suit hire shop last week and he was inside looking totally lost so I pointed him in the right direction." She shrugged._

 _Hanna let out a laugh as she squeezed Caleb's hand in hers. "I did tell you I had help." He muttered._

 _"Is Spence here yet?" Hanna asked as she scanned the dance floor for her._

 _"Yeah, she's probably hiding from Melissa in an empty classroom or something." Emily shrugged._

 _"Why is Melissa here?" Hanna asked curiously._

 _"She's chaperoning," Spencer's voice came from behind them as she approached. "I've left Alex in a corner somewhere hiding from her."_

 _"You still haven't told your parents about him?" Hanna asked and she leant her head on Caleb's shoulder. She knew what it was like to hide a relationship and was glad she didn't have to do it anymore._

 _"Nope." Spencer sighed. "I know how they'll react if I tell them I'm dating the waiter at our country club."_

 _Hanna felt Caleb's shoulders tense under her cheek and the grip he had on her hand loosen. She looked up at him confused about his change in mood. "What's wrong?"_

 _"Nothing." He shook his head and forced her a smile. "Do you want some punch?"_

 _She shook her head to decline and looked back at the girls, not believing him. "Ooh, I love this song." Mona announced as the song changed to a slow, romantic one._

 _"Is Noel here yet?" Hanna asked, as all the couples started to head towards the dance floor. "He's your date isn't he?"_

 _"He couldn't make it," She rolled her eyes. "He had some family event he couldn't miss, but you two should go dance."_

 _Hanna looked up at Caleb to see if he wanted to but she found him staring into the distance with a painful expression written into his features. "Caleb," She placed her hand on his upper arm and broke him from his daydream. "Do you want to dance?"_

 _"Ugh- sure." He answered shortly before taking her hand and stepping onto the dance floor._

 _Her arms looped around his neck as they swayed to the music and her eyes scanned his face, trying to figure out why his mood had shifted so suddenly. "Are you okay?" She asked softly. He just nodded in response as she looked deep into his dark eyes. "Did what Spencer say about her parents and Alex upset you?"_

 _It was the only thing she could think of that would possibly upset him but even so her Mom and Dad liked him now and it had never bothered him before that they hadn't approved of him at the start._

 _"No, why would you think that?" He asked, confused himself._

 _"Because ever since we talked to them you've been different," She explained as she searched for the right words to use. "You look sad."_

 _"It's not that I just-" He cut off and shook his head before forcing another smile. "It's nothing."_

 _"It's not," She shook her head, bringing her hand from the back of his neck to stroke his cheek. "Tell me."_

 _"When Spencer said about her country club I.." He trailed off again and she could see tears welling in his eyes. She had no idea what was going on with him but she knew that whatever it was, it was eating him up from the inside. They needed to get away from all the loud music and people and maybe then he'd open up._

 _She unwrapped her arms from around him and grabbed his hand, leading him to the back exit. "Where are we going?" Caleb asked as he followed her slowly._

 _"To our place." Was all she said as they made their way through the school and outside, before heading up the small hill to the woods._

 _Ten minutes of silence later they arrived at the clearing above the lake and Hanna immediately sat down on the grass and patted the ground next to her, signalling for Caleb to join her on the edge. "Why have you brought me here?" He asked, looking down and grabbing large clumps of grass between his fingers._

 _"Because it's where we had our first kiss." She smiled at him and shuffled closer so there faces were inches apart. "You know you can always talk to me," She told him. "About anything. He nodded and looked down, knowing what she wanted to know._

 _She would never force it out of him but she hated seeing him like this and wanted to do anything she could to make him feel better._

 _"I got a letter this morning," He started, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulling out a white envelope. "I forgot about it until Spencer mentioned about her country club."_

 _She watched as his thumbs traced over the loopy writing on the front before he handed it to her. She opened it and pulled out a handwritten letter addressed to him. Her eyes scanned through it before she looked up at him and bit her lip, suddenly understanding why he was so upset. "Your mom." Her voice was shaky as he locked his gaze on the ground and nodded._

 _His birth mother had found him and written him a letter saying she wanted to meet him._

 _A small smile spread across her face as she looked back at him. "She wants to see you- Caleb, this is amazing." He shook his head and took the piece of paper back off her. "You've waited twelve years for this, aren't you happy she found you?"_

 _He shook his head again as she saw a layer of tears cloud his eyes. "She's rich now," He told her, nodding towards the other two pages of writing she hadn't read. "And she's married with two other sons," She watched as his eyes closed painfully and he let out a whisper. "Why didn't she come and get me sooner?"_

 _Her arms instinctively wrapped around him at his words and she leant her forehead against his. "I don't know." She whispered back, not being able to bare the sound of his broken voice._

 _"She abandoned me when I was just a little kid and made me think that I had done something wrong whilst she swanned off to California to start her new life without me." His jaw locked as he spoke. "I had nothing for years whilst she was rolling in money with the rest of her family, not giving a second thought to the mistake she left behind."_

 _"You don't know that Caleb," Hanna tried, the letter his mother had written made it seem like she truly was sorry for leaving him._

 _"I do." He told her adamantly. "And now she feels guilty and wants me to forgive her and move to Monecito so her conscience is clear- I don't think so." He scoffed._

 _Hanna sighed and pried the crumpled paper from his hands. "She says she's sorry that she took so long to find you and that you were never far from her thoughts."_

 _"Bullshit." His voice broke as vulnerability seeped through._

 _Hanna couldn't take it any longer and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a tight hug. She knew she could never fully understand what was going on in his head but after everything he'd told her she had a rough idea and she didn't blame him for never wanting to meet the person who had ruined his childhood._

 _She was his mother and it was her purpose in life to look after her child but for some reason she didn't think she could. He was so young when she left him that he barley remembered anything about her or what his life was like before foster care. He would never know any different to the loneliness and abuse he suffered until he was old enough to see that it wasn't normal to locked in a room all day or be screamed at for nothing._

 _They sat in each other's arms for a few minutes, the only noise being their heavy breaths until Caleb pulled away from Hanna and lay back in the grass, looking up at the sky. "You think I should call her, don't you?"_

 _She sighed and lay back next to him. "I just think it would be a waisted opportunity of you didn't." She told him turning on to her side so she could see him. "The least you can do is ask her why she left you so you don't have to keep guessing."_

 _"But what if I do meet her?" He asked, his voice filled with uncertainty._

 _"Do you want to?" She asked, placing her hand on his chest. He shrugged in response and kept his eyes locked on the dark sky. "If you do, the worst that can happen is you never speak to her again and the best is that you actually get to know her."_

 _He sighed and turned to look at her with adoring eyes. "How do you always know what to say?"_

 _She smiled at him and watched as he lifted his arm so she could lay her head on his shoulder. "You don't have to decide now." She whispered to him as he wrapped his arm around her back. She could never imagine having to make such a life changing decision at such a young age._

 _"I know." He whispered back before he pressed a kiss to her forehead and they settled into a comfortable silence as they watched the stars twinkle above. "I love you." Hanna felt a whisper in her ear before lips pressed against the skin of her neck. She turned to look at him as a wide smile spread across her whole face and she leant down to connect their lips. "You saved me." He whispered again between kisses._

 _"What do you mean?" She asked him, pulling back slightly._

 _"Before I met you I had nothing and no one and you changed that." He explained, not breaking eye contact with her once as he poured his heart out to her. "You were kind to me and gave me a place to stay even though you thought I had tried to steal your dads car and you trusted me enough to let me sleep next to you for the night. No ones ever done that before."_

 _"What do you mean?" She asked again furrowing his eyebrows as she cupped his cheek in her hand._

 _"You showed me that people aren't all bad and you taught me how to love someone for the first time." He replied. "My life would be so different if I'd never met you," He leant his forehead against hers so their nose were touching. "I'd probably have ended up in prison or something, but you turned my life around so I should thank you."_

 _She shook her head against his. "You don't need to thank me Caleb, I did it all because I love you too." She couldn't hold back a smile as she told him those three words for the first time._

 _He pressed her close to his body as he breathed in her intoxicating scent that brought him so much comfort. "I'm gonna phone her." He whispered, taking a deep breath as he made a decision._

 _"You are?" Hanna asked with a small smile on her face._

 _"Yeah," He nodded slowly. "Your right that I should at least get answers to my questions."_

 _"Your doing the right thing." She told him as she pressed her lips to his. "And you never know, maybe you will meet her and you'll get to meet your little brothers too."_

 _She watched as he lowered his gaze, he was still so unsure about the idea of meeting his mom. "Maybe." He sighed._

 _"But if you do go to California to meet her then don't run off with some hot surfer chick." She tried to lighten the mood and was glad when he let out a little laugh. "I'm serious._

 _He shook his head and turned to look at her. "I can't make any promises." He teased, receiving a slap on the arm. "I'm joking, surfer chicks have nothing on you." He pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth._

 _"Good, because if you do go out there then I want you back here with me before graduation so we can move to New York like we've been planning."_

 _"Maybe I should go to Cali and steal my moms money so we can buy a huge apartment in New York."_

 _"Caleb." Hanna warned in a pointed tone._

 _"I'm joking," He rolled his eyes. "But she does owe me what she would've spent on me if she hadn't dumped me in care."_

 _"No," Hanna told him again. "We're going to buy an apartment that's all ours." She grinned as she voiced her vision for the future to him. "I don't care if it's the smallest apartment in the world as long as it's ours." She let out a happy sigh. "And there's enough space for my clothes of course."_

 _"Of course." He couldn't help but roll his eyes before he turned to look at her. His eyes scanned over her perfect face and locked on her eyes. He couldn't wait to start their lives together in a few months and no matter what happen in between now and then, whether he met his mom or something else happened, he was going to make sure her dreams of living in New York City with him came true._

 _His hand cupped her cheek and he pushed his lips against hers in a passionate, loving kiss. Her hands ran over his chest and around his head to tug at his hair before he pulled away. "What?" She asked, wanting to know why he stopped kissing her._

 _"Your missing the dance."_

 _"So are you."_

 _"Yeah, but it's all you've talked about for the last few weeks and now your missing it because of me." He sat up, knowing how excited she had been about it._

 _She shook her head and pulled him back down to lie next to her. "There is no where I'd rather be." She told him in a whisper before she lay her head on his shoulder and looked up at the sky. "I've never done this before."_

 _"Don't what?" Caleb asked, looping his arm around her shoulders._

 _"Stared at all the stars in the sky," She sighed happily. "Everyone does it in movies and it looks really cool but I hadn't done it until now."_

 _"I've done it before." Caleb said. "When I was younger and ran away from foster homes for the night I'd lie on benches and stare at the stars all night."_

 _"Did you ever make a wish?" Hanna asked, watching as all the stars twinkled._

 _"No, I don't believe in all that shit about wishes and karma." He rolled his eyes._

 _"What about soulmates?" Hanna asked, pushing herself up on her elbow so she could look him in the eye._

 _"What's that?"_

 _"You don't know what a soulmate is?" She asked with a laugh._

 _"I kind of do," He shrugged. "Define it."_

 _"It like your one true love, the person who you want to be with forever and the person you believe your meant to be with." She explained for him, a smile never leaving her face as she spoke._

 _Caleb swallowed and looked up into her baby blue eyes. "Do you believe in soulmates?"_

 _"I think so." She grinned, cupping his cheek in her hand. "Do you?"_

 _"No." He answered, ready for the slap he received on the arm. "But," He started again. "If I did then you'd definitely be mine."_

 _She let out a small laugh that was interrupted when Caleb pushed himself up to join their lips together on a long, probing kiss. "You'd me mine too." She whispered to him in between kisses as he pulled her back down on top of him and ran his hands up the back of her bare legs. Her hands searched for his shirt buttons as he kissed her like she's never been kissed before and they began a night of love making under the stars._

* * *

 **Let me know what you think and whether you think Hanna will wake up since there's only two more chapters left. And please take a look at my new fic Haleb Baby 3. Xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The night drags on as I mull over my future and the one decision my life is hanging on.

To stay or to die.

The question was simple but the answer complicated and heartbreaking- whatever I choose.

Do I stay and sit through the funerals of both my parents and the grief and unending sadness that comes along with it or do I die too, and watch everyone I love sit through my funeral and watch their agonising tears?

I glance back to my body as I let out a heavy sigh. My chest moves steadily as I breath unaided but there are still multiple tubes going into me, keeping me alive as the gentle beeping of my heart rate reminds me that I'm still here.

The hospital is much more quieter and calmer at night and I peer through the glass to see that everyone in the waiting room is fast asleep, including the nurse behind reception.

Outside is equally as quiet and the only light in the sky is the dim street lamp that sits on the outside of my window. I hear a noise and turn my head to see something dark flicker past my window. I start to panic as I stand up, thinking that I've run out of time to decide and that something is here to drag me away until a head pops up and I realise that it's Mona's dark hair. She turns around to scan the ward behind her before she messes with the buttons on the door and opens it with ease, stepping into my room.

I watch as her eyes come to rest on my body and a watery glaze sets over them. She bites her lip before swallowing and strutting over to the side of my bed. "I'm not supposed to be in here," She says as she perches on the edge of my bed. "But I figured you'd need some company."

I let out a smile and come to stand on the opposite side of the bed so I can hear what she's saying. She seems to be able to talk to me so easily and I don't know if she knows I can hear her or if it's just for her own comfort.

"I heard some of the nurses talking earlier and they said you'll be allowed visitors tomorrow, but it's family only so they won't let me in." She rolls her eyes and I can't help but feel happier knowing that I'll be able to see my Grandma tomorrow. "That's why I've snook in now." She says with a proud pout on her face before she lowers her gaze. "I was going to help Caleb sneak in too but he's asleep and I don't think he's slept since you were in the crash so I left him."

I glance over her shoulder to where Caleb is slumped in a chair with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. I can't help but notice how cute he looks when he's sleeping and my heart tugs a little as I wish I was next to him, curled up into his side and fast asleep too. I want so desperately for him to come and see me in here but I know that Mona did the right thing by letting him sleep since he had been wide awake for over forty-eight hours.

Ever since him and Mona returned from their chat on the corridor I sensed that they've reached a different level in their friendship and I know they're looking out for each other.

Her perfectly manicured hand moves to grip mine and a small tingling feeling fills the tips of my fingers as she does. "Look at you," She sighs. "It's not surprising you've not woken up yet when you already look dead." She rolls her eyes and moves a hand to run through my dull, straggly hair before she reaches into her bag and pulls out a hair brush and her make up bag.

After a few minutes of deep concentration she pulls away from me to admire her work and I'll admit it makes me look a little better, even though the cuts and bruises are still obvious. She brushed my hair, filled in my eyebrows and placed some gloss on my dry, cracked lips.

"You look a little more like you now." She says with a smile and she packs everything away before sitting back on my bed. "I miss you Han." Her words take me by surprise as they slip from her lips. "Everyone at schools talking about you and there's loads of flowers by your locker for you and your parents."

She looks down and sniffles and I notice her cheeks are glistening with tears. "The doctors keep saying that the longer you're in a coma the less likely it is that you'll wake up but please Hanna, I really need you to open your eyes." She raised her gaze to my face and wiped her cheek. "Your my best friend- my only real friend," She corrects herself. "And I don't know what I do without you."

A small smile leaves my lips as I move to sit on the other side of my bed. "Your the one that helped me change from looser Mona to who I am now and gave me the confidence to wear the clothes that I loved and not granny skirts like I used to." She laughs a little and so do I.

"We both help each other." I whisper and it's true. If it wasn't for Mona I wouldn't have ever found myself or discovered my love for fashion and designing.

"And I know it must be so hard for you to wake up without your parents but please you can't die." She begs. "Your the best friend anyone could ask for, your loyal and caring and would do anything for the people you love so you need to know that we'd do the same." She turns back to the waiting room. "Every single person in that room, whether they're related to you or not is family so you need to know that you still have one Han, you still have a family with us."

My eyes cast downwards at her words as guilt washes over me. Every single person in there has been pouring their eyes out and sitting in uncomfortable plastic chairs for the past three days, waiting for me to wake up.

The girls and theirparents, Mona, my Grandma and Caleb; they've all put their lives on hold for me and they could never know how thankful I am for that and how much I love them all.

* * *

When Morning came and everyone woke up the doctors announced that I would be allowed visitors but that it was family only and they could do or say nothing to upset me because they said it would increase my chances of never waking up if I was in emotional distress in my coma.

There was no arguing over who was going to visit me first because my Grandma was the only family member I have left here. I have cousins spread all around the country but we're not close and they probably don't even know what's happened to me yet.

"I've been knitting," My Grandma tells me as she sits by my bedside, griping on to my hand. She had been quiet until now, taking in my zombie like appearance with quivering lips but had somehow managed to pull herself together and forced a smile. "I remember the day you were born, your father called me when your mothers waters broke and I went straight to the hospital with a bag full of sandwiches and my knitting needles and by the time you were born I'd knitted a blanket." She says with a laugh. "Your poor mother was in labour for ten hours trying to push that big head you get from your father out."

I can't help but laugh a little at her words as I think back to all the stories I'd heard from my fathers birth that spared no details whatsoever.

"And the whole time you've been in the hospital, I've done the same." She bends down to pull a pale pink, baby sized blanket out of her handbag. "I know it's too small to wrap around you now but I thought it would be nice to have something soft instead of them horrible hospital sheets."

She places it over my body before she she lets out a sigh and runs her hand along my arm. "There's so many people here to see you Hanny," She tells me. "And that boyfriend of yours is sweet," She grins and I smile at how much Caleb would objectify to being called sweet. "He's the one your mother told be about, the one you were hiding in your room and feeding the leftovers to. She said she knew there was something special between you and him and I see it too, he hasn't left the hospital once and he just stares at your room like your his whole world." She sighs. "Most men these days aren't like him and would have run as soon as things got too complicated, but he's different. He's really something special and your so lucky to have found him Hanny," Her wrinkled lips lift into another soft smile before she lets out a tiny chuckle. "And he looks like a young Johnny Depp which is a bonus."

I smile again at the thought of Caleb staying with me even though it's been so hard for him. He could easily leave and go back to California to live with his mother, but instead he by my side waiting for me to wake up.

My grandma squeezes her eyes closed and glances outside my room quickly before she moved from the chair she was sat on to perch on the edge of my bed. "Everyone wants you to stay Hanny, especially me, I want you to stay more than I've ever wanted anything in my life." Her voice quivers with emotion as she wipes the few tears that have fallen from her red eyes. She stops and clears her throat before continuing. "But that's what I want and it's okay if it's not what you want." She lifts her gaze from her hands and runs her fingers through a piece of my hair. "I can see why you might not want to stay with everyone else gone so I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go and that it's okay if you have to leave us." She sniffles and forces a small smile. "It's okay if you want to stop fighting."

I take a step back from her and my body as what she said rings through my head as I feel something unclench inside of me. I feel myself breathe, knowing that for the first time since the accident someone has acknowledged that I can die if I want to.

It's not like she's going to unplug my oxygen tube or overdose my morphine or anything like that- she's just given me permission to choose what I want and not to worry about how it will effect everyone else around me. I know the Doctor warned her not to say anything that could upset me but it hasn't, it was the pinch I need and honestly it feels like a gift.

It feels like the heaviness of worrying about everyone else has been lifted from my chest and I can finally choose what I want. Not what everyone else wants.

I know that dying is the easy choice but I feel exhausted after the last few days I've spent here and my life wasn't a bad life, it was actually really good when I think back and compare it to other people's. Despite all the worrying I was doing about collage and what I actually wanted to do when I left high school, I was happy.

I used to spend time with the girls, eat dinner with my parents, go back shopping with Mona and spend my nights cuddling with Caleb; even if we were both tired and fell asleep in front of a film in each other arms I was happy and nothing will ever take those memories away. So even if I do die at only seventeen, those seventeen years were the best they could of been.

A loud beeping brings my attention back to my body as it gets faster and louder and I realise it's my heart rate monitor. My grandma steps back from my body, a little shocked before her fingers come to rest over lips and she nods silently as tears roll down her cheeks.

A group of doctors and nurses all rush into my room and surround my body as the monitor starts to flash red.

"No." I mutter, trying to get a better look at my body. I don't want to die yet, I need to say goodbye first. "No, not yet."

Tears start rolling down my cheeks and clouding my vision as a nurse guides my grandma out of the room and back to the waiting area, where I see everyone is on their feet, on the verge of tears too.

"No!" Another sob escapes my lips as the monitor carried in beeping. "No, I need to say goodbye. I need to say goodbye to Caleb."

* * *

 **So...What do you think will happen next? Will she die or will she change her mind or is it too late?**

 **I know there wasn't much Caleb in the chapter but I promise lots of him in the next which is also the last.**

 **But if you'd like to read something happier and more lighthearted then you should check out my new story Haleb Baby 3. Xxx**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"We love you Han." Emily's voice breaks as tears tumble down her tan cheeks and she looks at Aria and Spencer who nod their head in agreement through their own tears.

"I love you too." I whisper with a smile. They were the best friends I could ever ask for and I will never ever forget about them.

After I almost flatlined the doctors managed to get my heart rate back to normal and allowed the girls to come and see me which I guess means they know I won't be here for much longer.

I thought the girls would be more up beat when they got into my room and would start chatting to me like Mona did last night but instead they seemed to know too that this is a goodbye and haven't stopped crying since they all sat down.

Spencer's looks to the side before poking Aria and Emily's arms and pointing to the door where Caleb is stood, patiently waiting to see me.

I can't help but smile knowing he'll finally be able to see me and talk to me, even if it is the last time.

All three girls place kisses on my cheek before they exit my room, leaving he door open for Caleb. It's the first time he's seen the state my body is in and tears instantly fill his eyes as he swallows a lump in his throat. His chocolate eyes scan over my many cuts and bruises and my grey skin before he shakes his head from all the awful thoughts I know had filled it about my accident and he closes the door.

He hesitates as he steps towards my bed and drags the chair closer before he sits down. He reaches out and places the tips of his fingers over the skin of my hand so delicately, like he thinks I'm going to fall apart if he's too rough, but instead a faint tingling feeling fills my fingertips and I move to lean against the wall next to my bed, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

He clears his throat as his eyes move back up to my face and he opens his mouth. "I..." He trails off and I know he's trying to figure out what to say. "I don't know if you can hear me- the doctors said you might be able to.." He trails off again as he takes a deep breath. "I really hope you can."

He slips into silence again as his fingers continue to lightly run over my hand and a deep frown settles on his face as I guess he's thinking about what to say. I expect it to be similar to the goodbye the girls told me a few minutes ago but he seems to have a lot to tell me before that.

"I was talking to Mona yesterday and she reminded me that I hadn't called you for ages before the crash," He begins and I want to tell him that I was there and heard everything. "I wasn't ignoring you Han, I needed you more than ever that day and I was so stupid. I was waiting for my mom to pick me up when I texted you to see if you were awake so I could call you because I was kinda freaking out." His lips tug into a small smile as he carries on explaining.

"And I was outside a gift shop and saw this and thought about you." His hand pulls away from mine as he reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out the small black box with the 'Soulmates' necklace inside.

"It was only ten dollars but I couldn't not buy it after we stayed out till midnight, watching the stars." His smile grows wider at the memory of that night and he opens the box and takes out the silver chain. "I don't know how but I managed to loose my phone when I was buying it so I couldn't call to every night like I said I would, but I never stopped thinking about you Han." He looks back up at me, his eyes thick with emotion before he unclasps the chain of the necklace.

I watch as he glances around at all the tubes that are going in and out of my body before he decides there's no way he's getting the necklace around my neck with out having to pull out my breathing tube, so instead he takes my palm in his and drops the chain into my hand. My static fingers clench around it as he squeezes them together before he places his fingertips back on my arm and rubs it again, soothingly.

"You were right about my mom," He says as his eyes fix on my pale skin and an appreciating glaze covers his eyes. "About phoning her and going out to see her. I always felt like a part of me was missing, not knowing who I came from and I would always get this pain in my chest whenever someone asked me about my family and all I could do was shrug, but that stopped when I met you." His hands squeezes my arms, comfortingly. "You filled up the huge hole in my heart with all your love and happiness and then when you persuaded me to go to Cali you fixed everything last broken thing about me."

He's face is frowning, highlighting the vain of his forehead and I can tell that what he's just said has come straight from his heart. He doesn't open up and show vulnerability often but I know he trusts me completely and when he does his words warm up my insides.

"And I know that I have my mom and brothers now but I still feel like an outsider with them." A small sigh leaves his lips. "There lives are so different that I don't think I'll ever fit in properly there."

His eyes are welling with tears and his vain twitch as his emotions start to build up and his voice starts to break like it does whenever he has to relive his past. As much as he's so willing to get to know his new family I don't think he'll ever be able to forgive his mother properly and I don't blame him. What he went through will haunt him forever and will always be in the background of every choice he makes so it makes sense that a part of him will resent her as much as he is growing to love her too.

He shakes his head and forces a smile and I know he's determined to it make this about him although I love when he talks through his problems with me and I think deep down he knows I won't mind.

"What I mean is that your my family Hanna and you always will be, no matter what. You and your parents and your home will always be the first place I think of whenever anyone asks me where I came from because it's where I found myself."

His words sting as I feel my eyes start to water and squeeze them shut. My parents will always be my home too, the place where I felt the most myself and the place I felt the safest.

He seems to realise what he's said too and bites his lip. His eyes close painfully slowly as he registers that what he's recently gained back, I've lost.

His head lowers and I can tell he didn't want to change the subject so quickly. He wanted to carry on talking like I could respond before he even broached the topic of me, my coma and my dead family.

He raises his head and let's out a deep shaky breath as he drags his chair impossibly closer to me and clings onto my arm. "I'm so sorry about your mom and dad Han, I really am." He looks at me with a mix of sympathy and gentleness written into his face as he watches the steady rising of my chest. "And the crash- none of you deserved it, any of it."

He purses his lips like he's trying to decide if he should say what's on the tip of his tongue before he he sighs and gives in.

"I get that you wouldn't want to wake up without your parents here because I know what it's like to not have them around and it's pretty shit." He swallows. "Really, really shit actually." His eyes lower as he speaks. "There were so many times when I wanted to just fall asleep and not wake up- to not exist anymore, but then I met you." His lips tremble before he closes his eyes for a second to collect himself and continues.

"You were the only family I had for so long and you always will be my only real family." His voice shakes again and I think back to what he said about still feeling like an outsider to the Dawson's. After all this time of only being able to guess how he'd felt his whole life- not having his mothers soothing voice to comfort him or his fathers proud smile- I can relate to him now and understand the emptiness he must have felt inside.

"So I can do the same for you." His words take me by surprise as he clears his throat and speaks more confidently. "I'll be your family Han, like you're mine. I know it won't be the same but I'll try my best." A hopeful smile lifts his lips slightly. "I'll cheer you up when your sad and I'll make you laugh. I'll wipe away your tears when you cry and I'll always be there to talk about anything, I promise."

My eyes well with tears as the smile on his face widens to a grin and I turn away, not being able to see the hope and optimism that's written on to his features and knowing that it's all for nothing and in a few hours everything will be over.

"When I was in California my mom was asking about collage and my step-dad said he had connections to a company in New York," He tells me, the smile still stuck to his lips. "And he's got me an interview for a job there in a couple of weeks. I was going to keep it a surprise until I was sure I had the job but things are different now." His voice slips into a whisper as his fingers stroke my arm again.

"I know it's always been your dream to move to New York and we can do that now. My job with pay for you to go to collage and an apartment for us to live in, it'll probably be tiny but it'll be ours." He grins again and I can't help but smile too. He's like my prince in shining armour and I only wish it was so simple and we could escape to New York for the rest of our lives, away from all the death and pain.

"I just.." He trails off and shakes his head slightly as he thinks of what he's going to say. "I can't let you give up now Han." His voice cracks and my head lowers again. "All I can think about is how fucked up it would be for your life to end here. I mean I know that your life is fucked up no matter what now, forever, and I'm not dumb enough to think that I can undo that, no one can. But I can't wrap my mind around the thought of you not getting old and having kids, or going to New York and becoming this amazing designer so you can share all your work with everyone else and they can get the chills like I do from your beautiful smile and the way your face lights up when you're talking about what you love."

He's speaking with so much determination and clinging onto my arm like its the only thing keeping me in front of him and not disappearing forever.

His smile drops as he glances over his shoulder to the waiting room where everyone is still sat before he turns back to me and his eyes close painfully slowly. "The social worker came to talk to us the other day and she said that if you wake up, coming back to your old life might be too hard and that maybe it will be easier for you to forget about us." His emotions keep getting the better of him and seeping through as he speaks but until now he's been able to push them back. "And I would hate for that to happen, but I'd do it." His voice cracks as he swallows his pride and let's two tears roll down his cheek. "If it's what you want then you won't ever have to see me again. I'll leave so you can start a new life wherever you want and do whatever you want- whatever makes you happy."

The tears are streaming down my cheeks too as I look at the boy sat by my bedside, begging me to wake. I wouldn't blame him for walking away. I wouldn't be mad if he had given up on me and left but instead he's just proving how selfless and beautiful he really is. The fact that someone who has so little is willing to give it all up and force himself to leave so I that my life will be content and as painless as possible makes me love him even more than I did before. I don't think I could've ever found some one as special as Caleb Rivers.

"You can't die now," He croaks out. "You have so much talent and love and passion to give the world that you just can't stop here. Even if you do choose to move on, I'll still pay for your collage and an apartment for you, wherever you want to live." His long fingers squeeze my arm tight as he purses his lips, droplets of water still escaping from the corners of his eyes. "And you won't have to worry about me," He lets out the smallest of smiles. "As long as I know your safe and happy wherever you are, then I'll be okay too because I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today. I'll let you go, if you stay."

His fingers trail down my arms and clasp with my own, joining them together with the soulmates necklace he bought me lying in between us, linking us together. He lifts his gaze from our hands to my face and all I see is love. Love and desperation.

Loosing my parents so suddenly and with no warning has left a crater inside me that nothing will ever fill but the look Caleb gives me now, the look so pure and meaningful that it makes my heart buzz inside my chest and for the first time since in the three days I've been here a small amount of hope floods my body.

And that's just it.

That's how we manage to survive loss. Because of love, it never dies, it never goes away, it never fades. So as long as I never forget about my parents or never stop talking about them they'll always be with me, in every choice I make and in every path my life leads me down.

I know they wouldn't want this for me. They wouldn't want to give up here, they'd want me to keep fighting and make something of myself... to be myself and do what I want to do with my life. They'd want me to love my job and my family and keep their memory alive in my own children. Maybe I was too quick to make my decision? Maybe I was too quick to give up because now I realise what I really want.

Caleb stands up from where he was sat by my side and roughly wipes his cheeks dry with his palm before he reaches out and runs his fingers over my pale cheek. He traces the skin under my eye before slowly, he leans over and places two butterfly soft kisses on my closed eyelids.

He pulls back and blinks, his long eyelashes tickling my face before his lips part and he whispers, "I love you Hanna Marin." His breath ghosts over my lips before he leans forward and joins us in the most delicate of kisses.

It's so soft and gentle that my eyes drift shut from where I'm stood next to my body and I'm submerged in darkness as a tingling feeling spreads throughout me, from my lips right down to my toes.

Caleb's lips pull away from mine but my eyes don't open and the warm, fuzzy feeling doesn't stop. There's a split second of silence before a slow beeping sound fills my ears and the smell of antibacterial cleaner fills my nose. Darkness still surrounds me though and I rub my dry lips together in search for Caleb's before something shuffles next to me.

"Hanna?" Caleb broken voice echoes as he locks our fingers together again and squeezes so tight.

I gasp as the tingling feeling stops and my fingers contract around his before my eyes blink open and I find a pair of chocolate brown orbs staring down at me, blurred slightly by the blinding lights that hang from the ceiling. A huge grin spreads across his face as he wipes away his tears and cups my cheek lovingly, relief washing over his features.

"Your awake."

* * *

 **I really hope this chapter lives up to expectations and you enjoyed this short story. I love you all and your reviews mean so much so thank you so so much for every single one. Xxx**


	11. Chapter 11

**You're probably a little surprised to see this update since I completed it a few months ago and so am I tbh. I never really decided if I wanted to leave it how it was or do this last chapter but I got a cute idea so here it it. Xxx**

* * *

Chapter Elevan

Caleb swallowed the lump in his throat as he followed Hanna and her Grandmother through the front door of the Marin household. He closed the door behind himself gently before he turned around and watched as they both clung on to each other, crying into each other's shoulders, adorned in black.

Tom and Ashley Marin's funeral had been hard enough for him to go through, so he could never imagine how much grief Hanna was feeling right now after burying both her parents and saying goodbye to them forever.

He reached up and was finally able to loosen the tie he was wearing, untucking his shirt at the same time as he wondered what was going to happen next. It had been over a month since the fatal accident that killed both her parents and sent her into a coma for three days and after finally being released from hospital a week after she woke up, the planning for the funeral had started.

It had been simple, reflecting on Tom and Ashley's life together and all their happy memories which is exactly how Hanna wanted it. She wanted it to show what amazing parents they were and how wrong it was for them to be taken away too early and how much they would be missed. There wasn't an after party though, instead everyone left the cemetery and Hanna returned with her Grandma back to the empty house.

"Come on Hanny," The old woman sighed, pulling back from their bone crushing hug to look at her granddaughters face. "That's enough tears." She soothed, reaching up to wipe away the water that was streaming down Hanna's cheeks. "Why don't you try and get some rest and I'll make you something to eat?" She suggested and Hanna nodded, squeezing her grandma one last time before she disappeared up the stairs.

Caleb watched her go, his back still pressed against the front door as he looked back over to Regina who gave him a small smile. "She's going to be fine," She sighed, making her way into the kitchen and Caleb took that as his cue to follow her. "It'll be hard, so hard," She shook her head as a few tears of her own left her wrinkly eyes. "But she's a strong girl, she'll get through it."

"She is." Caleb agreed quietly, his lips briefly lifting into a small smile at the thought of how brave Hanna had been throughout the last few weeks.

"I guess I should say thank you, you've helped Hanny so much recently. She's lucky to have found one of you decent boys, they don't come around often." Caleb couldn't hold back another small smile as he looked down awkwardly.

"Thanks." He cleared his throat and watched as she started moving around the kitchen, rearranging the cutlery until she moved over to the fridge.

"I don't suppose she'll be hungry, will she?" Regina sighed as she pulled out some potatoes. "I'll make something anyway and leave it on the side for if she is later. Are you heading home soon Caleb?" She turned to look at him as he pursed his lips.

He didn't want to invade their privacy, especially in a time like this but he also didn't want to return back to the empty apartment his mother had recently bought him without making sure Hanna was okay first. "Um, yeah I will," He nodded, tucking his hands in the pockets of his pants. "Can I just say bye first and make sure she's okay and everything?"

"Of course you can." She nodded giving him a small smile. "Tell me when your heading off and I'll send you home with some dinner." She nodded down at the huge pan she pulled out that was beginning to fill with vegetables and some meat she had grabbed from the fridge.

He nodded and made his way out of the kitchen to the stairs, following the faint sniffling he could hear until he got to Hanna's bedroom. He pushed the door open slightly and caught sight of the blonde lay on her bed with her back to the door as her heartbreaking cries filled the room.

Caleb swallowed again, hating how much she was hurting right now and how little he could do to help. All he wanted was the make the pain of loosing her parents go away and yet the only thing that could do that was impossible.

He sighed as he slipped through the door and kicked his shoes off, watching as her body rose and fell with every shaky breath she took before he lifted back the corner of the pink duvet and she turned around, noticing him there for the first time.

Their eyes locked and Caleb's heart broke at the sight of her messy hair, red eyes and broken wrist as she curled up under the covers. Her cries stopped momentarily as she looked up at him before another sob rippled through her body and he couldn't hold back any longer from climbing into the bed next to her and pulling her into his chest.

One arm kept her pressed against him as the other tangled in the back of her hair and he leant down to kiss her temple. A wet patch was already forming on his shoulder when he pulled her head back slightly and cupped her cheeks, wiping away her tears with his thumbs as she slowly started to calm down under his touch.

They stayed like that for a while, Caleb stroking her hair softly and holding her close as her breathing finally started to even out and her tears ceased. After what felt like hours of her clinging on to him she pulled her head away and shifted on to her back, still tucked up into his side as she sniffled and reached up to wipe her eyes.

"Sorry." She mumbled, her eyes lowering as she bit her lip.

Caleb frowned at her words, wrapping his arms around her tighter as he reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "What do you have to be sorry for?" He asked her gently.

"I..." She blinked up at him, her piercing blue eyes meeting his dark brown ones before she took a deep breath and another round of tears escaped.

Caleb sighed, pressing his lips to her temple as he fought his own tears. She was so distressed, so upset and it was killing him to see her like this, to see her so broken.

She didn't deserve any of what happened to her and neither did her family. They were good people, they were generous and kind and shared so much love for each other that it seemed so cruel for them to be torn apart from each other and for Hanna to be left alone and orphaned. He would have given anything to swap places with her, to be the one going through the unbearable pain and grief and dealing with the death.

All he wanted was to make it stop, to make it hurt less- even if it was just a little bit. And that's what was killing him the most; the fact that he felt so useless.

Her quick shallow breaths caught his attention as he looked at her and saw she was struggling to hold everything together so he took her hand gently, linking it with his as he guided her through deep breaths, squeezing her fingers as she inhaled and reminding her that he was right beside her.

Again, with Caleb's help and his soothing she calmed down, her breaths evening out as he reached up and wiped her cheeks dry with his rough palms. "Shhh," He whispered, nudging his nose against hers.

"Sorry," She looked up at him again with the same guilty expression and again he shook his head.

"You've done nothing wrong." He told her sincerely, hoping she understood that whatever she thought she'd done- she hadn't.

"I mean, I'm sorry for dragging you into this and for crying so much." She swallowed, not meeting his eye as she reached up to feel the wet patch on the shoulder of his white shirt. Her voice was quiet as she pursed her lips and her breathing hitched. "I can't control it."

Yet again he could sense her emotions getting the better of her so he tried something new and pressed his lips against hers in a soft, caring kiss.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, okay?" He looked at her pointedly. "What happened.." He trailed off as her gaze started to lower again before he cupped her cheek and brought it right back up to him. "What happened wasn't your fault and no matter how many times you go over it in your pretty little head, there is nothing you could have done differently that day so please, please don't ever blame yourself."

"I know," She croaked out, biting her lip to try and distract her from the pain inside her chest. For weeks now she hadn't been able to sleep, lying awake going over in her head every second of the worse day of her life, trying to figure out what could have been done differently, what she could have done to save her family. But after a month of coming to terms with what happened she was starting to accept that she couldn't have done anything and even if she could- it wasn't like she could go back in time and change it.

Caleb sighed again, unsure about what to say that could help. He knew her and he knew that she always put other people before herself so telling her stop doing that was useless. It was just who she was and what made her so special to him and he knew that nothing he could ever say would make any of it more bearable so instead, he pulled her tighter hoping that she would take the comfort he was offering. And she did. Her head moved to the crook of his neck as their legs intertwined and her palm rubbed up and down his chest.

A comfortable silence fell between them as they lay on the bed, both of them deep in thought until Caleb spoke. "You okay?" He murmured and instantly regretted it. It was the most predictably stupid question to ask someone in a situation like this and he frowned, opening his mouth to correct himself and tell her that's not what he meant when she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I'm okay." She whispered back. She caught on to what he meant to ask and knew it was him letting her know that he was there to talk if she needed it, but right now she was okay with the silence. It felt relaxing after a day of people offering their condolences and telling her how much her parents would be missed.

The funeral had been the closure she need to start to carry on with her life, however hard it was going to be without her parents. It was what she needed to know that everyone there was going to be right by her side and help her through this though time.

Caleb didn't know how long they had been lay there, but as he eyes started to droop shut with tiredness he thought back to the one thing that had been playing on his mind continuously. He was too afraid of the answer to ask her up to now, wanting to at least be with her for the funeral but he knew he couldn't put it off for any longer.

He unwrapped one arm from around her and moved to lie on his side so they were face to face and he could see her properly so he'd know exactly how she was feeling. "There's something I need to ask you," He began softly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she got her attention. "When you were in the coma, the night before you woke up the social worker came to speak to us. I already told you this when I came to talk to you but I dont know if you could hear me and-"

"I could." She nodded briefly, biting her lip as he carried on.

"Well," His voice was shaky and she could tell he was nervous. "She talked to us and she said that sometimes after someone looses people they love suddenly- like in the crash, that sometimes its too hard to come back to the life they had before and the people that are still there and that some people cope better by letting everything go and moving on completely." He didn't meet her eye as he kept his gaze low, not wanting to affect the choice she had to make. "And I'd get it, I'd understand if that's what you needed and I'd go, I'll let you live your life and let you move on."

He swallowed, biting his lip as he slowly lifted his gaze and brown met blue. He frowned as he watched the girl in front of him let out a beautiful smile as her eyes welled with tears and she shook her head gently. Her hand cupped his cheek, stroking it as his eyes followed her every move in confusion. "Caleb Rivers," She whispered, leaning her forehead against his. "I love you so much."

"What?" He pulled back, even more confused now that he already was.

"I said that I love you so much." She giggled.

"No," He shook his head, having no control over the wide grin that spread across his face. "I mean, what about starting over? Is that something you want?"

She smiled at his selfless words as she leaned closer and pressed their noses together, staring straight into his deep, dark eyes. "When I woke up, the first few days were so hard and I kept thinking how maybe it would have been easier to die, that it would have been so much simpler to go with my parents. But you asked me to stay, you begged me to stay. You stood over me and you made a promise to me, so I stayed for you."

"You didn't have to-"

"I wanted to. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know its going to be so hard- so, so hard sometimes having lost my parents but I know that they would want this too. They'd want me to be happy and make something of myself in New York with you." His dread dissolved into a smile as he thought about moving to New York with her to start their life together.

"You still want to move there?" He grinned.

"Of course I do." Her eyes started to water as she thought about her parents again and she reached up to pull his face impossible closer to her. "Please," She whispered, "I've already lost so much and I can't take it if I loose you too."

"I never want to loose you either." He whispered back, pressing his mouth against hers as her lips caressed his and he slipped his tongue in, showing just how much she meant to him. Her hand ran through his hair, the other one gripping his back as he made her lips tingle and her heart flutter. "I love you too by the way," He broke away to shoot her a grin. "So much."

He didn't know how long they kissed for but eventually she pulled back and rested her head on his shoulder. "Are you staying tonight?" She asked him, the days events catching up with her as her eyes grew heavy and tired.

"Do you want me to?" He asked with a smile, already knowing the answer as she nodded. "Okay, but I told your Grandma I was only coming up to see if you were okay, she said she'd send me home with some dinner."

Hanna laughed as his face scrunched up a little, knowing her Grandmother's cooking wasn't to everyone's taste. "It's fine, she likes you." She smirked at him. "In fact she might even love you more than I do."

"Maybe," He murmured with a wryly grin as he pulled her closer to him again. "But she doesn't get the same special treatment you get."

"What special treatment?" Hanna played dumb, smiling into the probing kiss he placed on her pink lips before he pulled back and got out of the bed, starting to undress as they got ready to go to sleep.

"Mmm," She rolled on to her back and watched as he started to unbutton his shirt, revealing his toned muscles underneath. "She better not get any of this special treatment." She smiled to herself as he shot her a smirk and moved to unbuckle his belt and she realised that the last hour with Caleb had been the first time she'd smiled properly and even laughed since her parents died. Caleb could always bring out the best in her, no matter what the situation was and she was thankful that he made everything feel normal again, at least just for a few minutes.

She let out a long sigh as she peeled back the covers and climbed out of the bed too, moving towards her closet to get ready for bed. She pulled the simple black dress off, fighting back tears at the heartbreaking memories it now carried with it before she looked down and swallowed another lump in her throat at the sight of her scar. Caleb was yet to see the long, stitched up line down that went down her chest from where the doctors had to cut her open to drain her lungs so she could breathe, the only injuries he had seen had been the cuts that had disappeared now and her broke wrist that was practically healed.

The tips of her fingers grazed over the tender skin and she shook her head, quickly pulling one of Caleb's t-shirts over her head, trying to push the thought to the back of her mind as she turned around and climbed into bed where Caleb was already lying.

"You okay?" He asked softly as she joined him under the duvet, taking in her watery eyes. She didn't reply, just cuddled up to him in the bed and wrapped her arms around his bare torso, stroking his skin. Caleb looked down at her as she lay her head on his shoulder and caught sight of the edge of the scar. He reached down subconsciously and ran his fingers along her chest as her body froze under his ouch and she looked away shyly. "Hey," He mumbled, hating seeing her like this because of a scar.

"Stop," She croaked out, her eyes welling with tears again as she tugged the oversized t-shirt back up. "It's horrible, I hate it." Two tears ran down her cheek as she pursed her lips but instead of wiping them away, Caleb carefully rolled her on to her back and hovered above her.

"It's not," He shook his head, placing his lips to the soft skin on her collarbone.

Her breathing hitched in her throat and she didn't know whether it was because of what Caleb was doing to her neck or what she was about to say. "Every time I look at it, it reminds me of what's happened- and about my parents." Two more tears left her eye as he carried on placing delicate kisses along her skin, reaching the top of the scar.

"It's not horrible, it reminds me how close I was to loosing you and how lucky I am that you chose to come back to me and how precious and amazing you are." His voice was a whisper as kissed either side of the long scar, right down into the valley between her breasts where it ended. "I love you."

"I love you too." She opened her eyes and found his face right in front of her as he kisses her lips. She loved how he could make all her insecurities disappear with a few sentences and make her feel like the most beautiful girl on the planet.

He started to pull away when she pulled his head back down, deepening the kiss. He swallowed her moan as their tongues fought before he pulled back and moved to suck on her neck again instead. She let out a content sigh as she lay back and let him work on leaving a mark as her hands buried in his long hair, encouraging him to carry on. She had missed him over the past few weeks and craved the feeling of their bodies pressing together, his weight on top of her and their skin rubbing against each other.

Caleb got the message she was sending him with the hair pulling and the cute little moans that sent his blood rushing south and pulled away from her neck, pecking it one last time before he hovered over her again, looking deep into her sparkling blue eyes and not needing to ask to know what she wanted, the way her pupils grew bigger with lust told him all he needed to now. His hands slid down her body, skimming over her stomach and grazing past her abdomen before his fingers came to rest on the hem of her panties, tickling her hipbones slightly. He pulled back, connecting his eyes with hers again as she nodded in confirmation and her eyes drifted shut as he tugged down the flimsy material and pressed his velvet lips to her centre in a delicate kiss that drew a quiet whimper of pleasure from her.

His hands gripped her hips again, stopping them from rising up as her breath hitched in her throat and her fingers reached down to rake through his long, chocolate locks, holding his head still as her entire body was consumed by the things his tongue was doing to her. The pleasure started to build deep in her stomach as he let go of one of her hips, allowing her to rock them against his mouth and his thumb skimmed back across the smooth skin of her belly. Moments later she came undone, jerking forwards as every muscle in her body contracted and her grip on his hair loosened as she relaxed.

Her eyes blinked open again when she felt his hot breath against her cheek, his face inches from hers as he looked at her with enough want and affection to make her centre tingle again. "Are you okay?" He pressed his forehead against hers as her hands started to trail up and down his muscular back.

"Im good," She breathed. "So good."

He grinned and leant down to give her a gentle kiss; she could sense his reluctance to carry on, knowing he wanted to make this all about her, giving her what she needed. But right now she needed him and the bulge that was pressed against her thigh was a clear give away he needed her too. So she deepened the kiss, her legs hitching up to wrap around his waist, bringing their centres together.

"Are you sure?" Caleb asked one more time, holding back from kissing her whilst he made sure this was a hundred percent what she wanted. It wasn't their first time together or their second, but it was the first time since the accident and after everything that happened he wanted to make sure she was certain. The concerned look on face dissolved though to one filled with pleasure when she rolled her hips against his a fraction, causing his head to drop to the pillow next to hers as he let out a quiet groan.

He felt her smirk against his neck as he got her message and reached down to rid himself of his boxers, kicking them off his feet. He aligned himself with her centre before letting out another soft moan as he eased himself in and Hanna tensed under him as the familiar feeling of them being one washed over her again. Her eyes slammed shut as he braced himself on his forearms and started to move inside her, picking up the pace a little.

Heat scorched every fibre of her body, setting her on fire from inside out. She could feel it in her toes, her fingers and her chest as he folded her t-shirt up under her arms and ducked his head to attach his mouth to her breast, licking and sucking and sending more tingles through her body. Then he moved his lips back up and took her mouth between them, silencing her quiet moans as he carried on moving in and out.

They didn't rush, they didn't speak as their bodies rubbed against each other, joining them together as they made love. It quickened, it slowed and then picked up speed again until the bottom of both their stomachs started to fizz and they both came undone together, Hanna tightening around him and sending him over the edge.

Caleb let out a final grunt, burying his face in the crook of her neck as they clutched each other and caught their breath back, completely satiated. "That was..." He seemed lost for words as he nipped at the smooth skin on her neck before he lifted his head again and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Your amazing."

Her eyes fluttered open as a light blush spread across her cheeks, her lips poking up into a small smile as she placed a gentle kiss to his bare shoulder, breathing in his calming scent. "Your amazing too." She whispered.

He grinned and pulled out of her, rolling onto his back before he pulled her closer into his chest and tugged her t-shirt back down her body to keep her warm. They didn't say anything as they snuggled down into the bed and pulled the duvet back up, both their eyes drifting to a close as tiredness overtook them and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Hanna's eyes blinked open the next morning, a stream of sun creeping through her curtain and lighting up her bedroom. She closed her eyes and moved to roll over when she felt a heavy weight in her side and opened her eyes again to find Caleb lay next to her.

She was lay on her back as he lay in his front, half of him pressed against her shoulder and his head tucking into the crook of her neck, tickling her skin with his soft breathing.

She couldn't help but smile as her craned her neck to press her lips against his forehead, not minding at all how some of his wait was pressing down on her. It had been a reminder through the night that he was right there beside her, keeping her safe and she loved it.

Her hand reached up to run through his hair, playing with the long, dark strands as he slept peacefully beside her and she closed her eyes too. Her mind flickered back to every other morning from that past few weeks, how she had barley been able to sleep and how when she had dozed off- she had woken a few hours later feeling no better for it. Last night was the first night in a long time that she had got a good nights sleep and it was all because of Caleb.

He really was her saviour through the tragedy of loosing her Mom and Dad. He was the reason she had woken up and the reason she was going to carry on her life after suck a huge loss.

She missed them. She missed them every second of every day, but somehow being with Caleb made her believe that she could get through this and that was what she was going to do. She was going to make something of herself, build herself a life in New York, marry the man she loved who was sleeping right beside her and make her parents proud.

Everything would be for them and she knew that as she said her vows or signed a top fashion show or even when her and Caleb had their own children, her parents would be there- in the back of her mind making her the incredible woman she wanted to be.

The door creaking open caught her attention and she smiled as her Grandma entered, tip-toeing over to sit in the edge of the bed and place her hand over Hanna's broke wrist. "How did you sleep, sugar?"

"Good," Hanna told her honestly. "Really good."

"Hmm," The older woman grinned. "It wouldn't have anything to do with this, would it?" She chuckled, nodding towards Caleb's sleeping body.

"He makes it better Grandma," Hanna told her, her eyes clouding over again as she reached an arm around and trailed it down Caleb's back. "It doesn't hurt as much when I'm with him."

"I know baby, I know." She soothed, stroking the blondes arm as she smiled fondly at the two teenagers. "He's a good kid," She sighed as Caleb shifted around slightly before a light snore left his nose causing both woman to chuckled. "Keep him close."

"I will." Hanna grinned, pressing her lips to his forehead and rubbing his bare back.

"Your friends are calling around to see you today, remember?" Regina spoke softly. "You girls should go out and have a little fun."

"I don't know," Hanna shook her head. "I think we'll just stay here." She hadn't got to the stage of leaving the house yet and having to put up with people asking her how she was in the street, she'd rather stay in with her friends and Caleb- the people she trusted.

"Okay baby." She was thankful when her grandmother didn't push her. Instead she reached up and cupped her cheek, pushing back some blonde hair in the process. "Your mom and dad would have been so proud of you, you've been so brave these last weeks and you've looked after me- they would have been so, so proud." She repeated, sighing as tears started to build up in both their eyes.

"Thank you." Hanna whispered, squeezing her grandma's wrinkly hand tightly.

"Don't cry Hanny," She soothed. "Everything's going to get better now, just give it time." She pressed a kiss to Hanna's head and left the room, leaving her to a morning in bed.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes quickly before she cuddled into Caleb's side and he smiled in his sleep, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close. Her Grandmother was right, she just needed time for everything to heal and go back to as normal as possible and as she closed her eyes she couldn't wait for her future.

Caleb had saved her, he was the reason she stayed and she couldn't wait to start the future he had promised her- their future together.

* * *

 **So? Did you like? I hope it was sad and cute and hot and fluffy all at the same time so let me know what you thought one last time.**

 **And after 8 months how excited are you for pll to be back? I'm definitely ready to see adult Haleb back together!**

 **And finally I have another surprise coming soon so keep your eyes out for it and thank you for all the support with this story. Xxxx**


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